Poketopia Endurance Championship
by 122 Generation
Summary: Sometimes the greatest challenge is not enduring long battles, but also if the body and spirit can fight for just as long: the most demanding challenge presented by Poketopia. Ever.
1. Youngest Double Champion

**I'd like to note that the book cover is the main character.**

* * *

_**Chapter one: Youngest Double Pokétopia Champion**_

"Once again, everyone who's just listening or just arriving, I'd like to welcome Trainers around the world to the Pokétopia Endurance Championship," Colosseum Master Joe read out from a speech. "Here, Pokémon Trainers will be facing a series of matches occurring in each of our ten world-class Colosseums, but there will be given a short timeframe to complete the championship: two weeks, in fact. Also, the idea is that from the moment the challenge begins, you will be given a whole session to complete as many battles as you can, but no extensive breaks between battles, including complete restoration of Pokémon, will be allowed to uphold the idea of endurance. However, you will be allowed a 5-minute break after half an hour has passed, and you may only take a break only at this time."

Joe was standing on the centre of the Gateway Colosseum, where crowds on the stands far away listening and watching, and where it stood on the waters in front of the Pokétopia megalopolis. Bright buildings lit up the skies above.

"This year, Joe continued, "Pokétopia Authority has decided to separate the championship into unique classes: first, the benchmark class which holds Pokétopia's proud history is the Battle Class! Second is the newly formed Contest Class, and so, if you win, you will rightfully claim the titles of Pokétopia Endurance Champion or Pokétopia Endurance Contest Champion! For such harsh feats, podium finishes will be acknowledged too!"

Distant but loud cheering was audible throughout the borders of Pokétopia and everywhere.

"How the scoring system will work is that scores are point-based and kept track by judges at each Colosseum," Joe continued to explain, "and basically to win the title means you have to score points in every Colosseum. For the Battle Class, points will be awarded by performance, time, how many Pokémon were knocked out, and how long your team can last to the end. There will of course be bonuses to those who defeat an opponent. It's kind of like a tourney tree, you see. We start with eight contestants, and after battling they will divide into two groups of four, and so on and so forth (details will be shown later). Of course, any circumstance like the move Explosion will fall under the Pokétopia regulations and will be reviewed. For the Contest Class, Pokétopia will be using the same scoring system as established and used by the International Contest Federation and Pokémon Activities Committee. A select judge will be judging alongside the regular judges, and as well as the Colosseum Leader."

Joe took a deep breath, and then added the final words of the speech. "Competitors must compete for points in a given order of Colosseums anyway, since only a handful of them will be open and closed over the next 16 days, and they will only be open at certain times. Plan wisely, and manage your time well! Above all, be consistent: because these endurance battles will put your Pokémon, body, mind, and spirit to the test!"

* * *

"It's been a while since I've had a challenge. I'm going to enjoy this!"

Much further away, at a very peaceful residential bloc called Sunset Village, which overlooked the spectacular view of Sunset Bay (but without Sunset Colosseum…), a little 12 year old girl was watching the Pokétopia broadcast from her private two-storey home in the village. The girl was in fact Maria Lougheed: the Trainer almost everyone in Pokétopia had heard about.

The reason? It's because Maria unexpectedly took the title of Pokétopia Master during one Pokétopia Championship season when she was only 9 – an astonishingly young age. Maria also caused a number of shocks two years later: at 11 years old she took the tile again, and recorded three class wins in that year's Masters Class Series.

Needless to say, the other four classes were out of Maria's performance.

Now sitting drowsily on the low sofa, Maria could only reflect on her accolades: 12 years old, and she had two championship titles and three Masters class wins to her name. For her achievements at such a young age, Pokétopia invited her to be a special contest judge in the Endurance Championship, and along with that giving her the title of Master Senior.

_In short, I'm pulling off double duty with the contests and battles…_

She didn't need to remind herself that she was in Battle Class too.

Maria was dressed in the trademark products of Pokétopia: a teal headband with a white Pokétopia logo on the side neatly pulled some her brown neck-length hair back, as if the hair in front was neatly combed. If not for the headband, her hair would fall to her shoulders.

Two distinctive Pokétopia items were her choice of clothes as well: a black-and-silver sleeveless dress with two silver designs on the sides similar to the Pokétopia logo, the Pokétopia logo itself emblazoned on front and centre in silver; and black-and-silver pants with the same silver designs of the Pokétopia logo. A Pokétopia gold badge, a little memorabilia from taking the Pokétopia Master title, was pinned on Maria's left, where a typical badge would go. Not to mention shoes that covered her ankles and added two inches to her height and these were definitely _**not**_ heels.

And, of course, black-and-white fingerless gloves.

These were the same clothes that Maria wore when she took her three class wins in the Masters Class Series. Come to that, she bought them the night she was crowned Pokétopia Master for the first time. In short, these were the same clothes she wore when she took the title the second time.

"You're going to need a lot of time on your hands," her cousin said. "Especially when you're going to pull off double duty."

"Hey," Maria countered, "you're battling too."

Leon Pinetree, Maria's older cousin, stood making breakfast in the kitchen. Since they were well away from home (that is, the City of LaRousse in the Hoenn region) and in Pokétopia, Leon ultimately became Maria's unofficial guardian while they were at the resort. Nevertheless, they had a lot of freedom to move while they were in Pokétopia.

Despite Leon being older and much taller than Maria, Leon held the rank of Major Trainer (whereas his little cousin held the hard-earned title of Master Senior).

But, Leon was the more handsome nonetheless. Girls go wild for him! (Maria would never understand why).

"I'm making omelettes to start off the day," Leon said as he served them on a plate. "They're not made from a Pokémon Egg, I assure you. They're too big. Chansey eggs taste better too."

Maria smirked and took her seat near the panoramic window, which viewed the shoreline of Sunset Bay. Sometimes, Maria wished she could live here as much and as long as wanted, but she still had her original home in LaRousse. After all, Pokétopia was just a battle theme resort, despite Maria's prestige.

"Do you want cayenne pepper with your omelette too?" Leon asked.

"No, I don't like cayenne pepper!" Maria protested. "Make it black pepper!"

"And here's your breakfast, Maria, with pepper," Leon passed a steaming plate right under Maria's nose. The smell of fresh cooking wafted through the air.

"Thanks, Leon, you're the best," Maria grinned. She picked up her fork, and began to eat and at the same time viewed a PEC (Pokétopia Endurance Championship) timetable with her free hand.

**Pokétopia Endurance Championship (PEC)**

**Each session will be score-based, and championship titles and podiums will be awarded to challengers who finish the championship in the top three scores.**

**Colosseums will be open for a certain number of days, and for a certain amount of time before closing by the Colosseum Leader or Master. Participants who fail to attend the designated session will not be awarded championship points, but are still eligible to attend any future session in the season.**

**Points will be awarded based on performance, length of battle, and endurance. At the end of the match, the appropriate amount of points will be awarded to the winning and losing side, and the defeated may continue with a half-restored team until the session is complete.**

**Any occasional circumstance in the match, including double knockout and the use of the moves Selfdestruct and Explosion will fall under the jurisdiction of Pokétopia Authority and match judges to be reviewed.**

**Each Colosseum will host one session per day, and therefore; will host two sessions over two days, and during a specific time as listed. Also, some Colosseums will have established their own special rules for competing at the venue, and the challenger must abide by those rules.**

_**Day 1**_**:**

**Gateway Colosseum:**** twilight to midnight**

**Session 1: Battle Class**

**Main Street Colosseum:**** morning to midnight**

**Session 1: Contest Class**

_**Day 2:**_

**Gateway Colosseum: twilight to midnight**

**Session 2: Contest Class**

**Main Street Colosseum: morning to midnight**

**Session 2: Battle Class**

_**Day 3**_**:**

**Waterfall Colosseum:**** morning to twilight**

**Session 1: Battle Class**

_**Day 4:**_

**Waterfall Colosseum:**** morning to twilight**

**Session 2: Contest Class**

_**Day 5:**_

**Neon Colosseum:**** twilight to midnight**

**Session 1: Contest Class**

**Crystal Colosseum:**** morning to twilight**

**Session 1: Battle Class**

_**Day 6:**_

**Neon Colosseum: twilight to midnight**

**Session 2: Battle Class Fortune Battle**

**Crystal Colosseum: morning to twilight**

**Session 2: Contest Class**

_**Day 7:**_

**Sunny Park Colosseum:**** morning to twilight**

**Session 1: Contest Class**

**Magma Colosseum:**** morning to twilight**

**Session 1: Battle Class**

_**Day 8:**_

**Sunny Park Colosseum: morning to twilight**

**Session 2: Battle Class**

**Magma Colosseum: morning to twilight**

**Session 2: Contest Class**

_**Day 9:**_

**Sunset Colosseum:**** twilight to midnight**

**Session 1: Battle Class**

_**Day 10:**_

**Sunset Colosseum:**** twilight to midnight**

**Session 2: Contest Class**

_**Day 11:**_

**Courtyard Colosseum:**** midday to morning**

***note: a session in Courtyard Colosseum will be extremely long. Stay well rested!**

**Session: Contest Class Endurance**

_**Day 12:**_

**Courtyard Colosseum:**** midday to morning**

**Session: Battle Class Survival Battle**

_**Day 13:**_

**No Colosseums open except for practice sessions at Lagoon Colosseum. This day is used for transition in preparation for the Endurance Championship finals.**

_**Day 14:**_

**Stargazer Colosseum:**** midnight to morning**

**Session 1: Contest Class Finale**

_**Day 15:**_

**Stargazer Colosseum:**** midnight to morning**

**Session 2: Battle Class Finale**

_**Day 16:**_

**Closing ceremony at Stargazer Colosseum.**

**Pokétopia Endurance Championship participants/challengers are encouraged to attend all appropriate sessions when possible in order to increase the likelihood of better championship standing.**

It was a long read. Maria continued to munch on her breakfast as she took in the information. Leon on the other hand began to serve a breakfast for himself to eat.

"Anna made a call here just an hour ago," Leon reminded his cousin. "You know, Anna the receptionist. She's reminding you that you're judging the Main Street Colosseum contest tomorrow, and you're expected to meet with the judges today and prepare how ruling will turn out."

Maria sighed. She knew that as a Battle Class participant and as a Contest Class judge she had a massive time constraint in her hands. It would mean early registration into Colosseums and miraculous arrangements. Although there was more than enough leftover room on the entry list, and lots more in the Colosseums, that did nothing to help the time situation.

Specifically, she was obligated to attend every Contest Class session, but as a participant in the Battle Class she had to make proper arrangements to attend at each Battle Class Session at each Colosseum. She could skip, but that would mean missing out on scoring valuable points!

Courtyard Colosseum was the worst thing on her mind.

The thing that made Courtyard Colosseum different was that it worked under survival rules, where challengers would have to battle and contest for hours and hours until they collapsed, with the exception of a guaranteed 5-minute break every half hour. Because of this, the survival battles marked the pinnacle of the Endurance Championship, and the highest amount of points would be scored here.

Maria had to judge a contest there for well over twelve hours. After Sunset Colosseum (she figured), she would have an entire morning to get ready for judging a contest from midday (day 11) to the next morning (day 12). On the same day (day 12), she would have to get enough rest from midday again to prepare for the Survival Battle, and that could last over twelve hours. Fortunately, she could still take a day to rest before heading to Stargazer Colosseum the following night.

She was glad that Pokétopia had managed the time brilliantly. In the first place, the plan was that the Stargazer Colosseum sessions would be pushed back a day, but that would mean overlapping the times for Courtyard Colosseum, and Pokétopia Authority wasn't prepared to risk the well-being of the judges for the finale. Maria alone would have suffered a lot more based on time, and now the thirteenth day would allow her to catch her breath.

"What's your plan for the day, anyway?" Leon asked.

Maria had gotten up to put on her favourite Pokémon Trainer's bag and wrapped it around her waist, while saying, "I'll have to go to Main Street anyway to prepare for the first session tomorrow. I guess I'll take a look around the metropolis while I'm there."

"Finished your breakfast already, eh?" Leon grinned. "Have a great day, and come back by sunset too. You _don't_ want to sleep in tomorrow."

Maria grinned and went for the door of the private two-storey home. Leon Pinetree smiled again and began to wash the dishes.

There were, essentially, only two ways to get around Pokétopia: by foot, or by rail. Since one of Maria's earned Battle Passes featured an ocean blue Pokétopia train, she figured it was most logical that this was the main method of transport. It was ideal too.

As Maria walked out of her place of residence, she could reflect by looking at her Battle Pass. Besides showing her portrait and her team of five Pokémon (a sixth one would be considered later if Maria felt like it), it also was a design showing the Sunset Colosseum and, of course, Sunset Bay. The pass design alone was also what one would describe extremely difficult to earn.

During the Pokétopia Championship, participants weren't allowed to use their own Pokémon and had to select from 16 loaned Pokémon. It was no easy task, since the Pokémon would be usually be flattened by Leader Dusty at the end.

The Master Senior began to walk to the nearest rail station near Sunset Village. A year or two earlier, Pokétopia Authority used their profits to fund and construct a rail system around Pokétopia for efficient transport, where stations were posted in every key area on the resort.

Thus, the Pokétopia Transport Rail Corporation, or PTR, was founded.

For Maria and every other challenger, a ticket was not necessary because use of PTR was guaranteed through a Battle Pass.

For PTR, the line ran in two directions: clockwise and counter-clockwise.

Since the transport engineers and mechanics were extremely lazy, they gave the names of the lines the Clockwise Line and the Counter-Clockwise Line. The names stuck. Before Pokétopia could be open to any suggestions for naming the lines, the public had gotten used to 'clockwise' and 'counter-clockwise' from first opening.

She walked past the other houses and villas in Sunset Village, walked for a little while on a paved road with trees on the sides, and finally to the junction that connected Sunset Colosseum with Sunset Village and the neighbouring roads. Needless to say the Stargazer Colosseum was clearly visible at the top of the mountain above.

200 yards away from Sunset Village, and 100 metres away from Sunset Colosseum, Maria arrived at the PTR Sunset Colosseum Station. Because Sunset Bay had a rich forest environment around it, Pokétopia Authority and PTR thought it best to preserve the environment and strategically build Sunset Village, and the PTR rail, well away from the bay. Plus, it would look better!

Maria made sure she had her Poké Balls in her bag and entered the station. A quick scan with her Battle Pass was all she needed to gain entry into the station. It was fortunate that the rail here was built on ground level, so there was no need for stairs or escalators.

Soon enough, she was standing on the Sunset Colosseum Station platform and waiting for the Counter-Clockwise PTR train that would take her to Main Street.

_And here…_ Maria thought as the crescendo of the high-speed train arrived. _My adventure begins. Honestly! I wonder how much of this – endurance – could anyone handle?_

"_The Counter-Clockwise Train is arriving_," an automated voice said, spoken from intercoms above. "_Please let passengers exit first_."

There were no passengers ready to leave in the PTR train, and as far as Maria could see it was near empty. Simply, she waited for the doors to slide open, took a comfortable seat, and waited for the Counter-Clockwise line to take her to Main Street.


	2. Morning Rush with Symphony

**Here is chapter two, as promised!**

**Now, I should mention that Symphony and her Pokemon are the property of thesecretkeeper11 and are used with permission. I should give credit to the mentioned author, because I based off this endurance championship from 'Poketopia Tournament', which is written by thesecretkeeper11.**

* * *

_**Chapter two: Morning Break with Symphony**_

The PTR Counter-Clockwise line, which had bypassed Courtyard Colosseum on the way, slowed to a stop at Main Street station, and in the heart of the Pokétopia metropolis. Maria Lougheed stepped off the subway and out into the bright Main Street with trademark Pokétopia buildings decorating the skyline above.

Cafés, shops, and commercial buildings occupied every sight on the street, with the exception of an archive library and, of course, the unmistakable Pokétopia Main Street Colosseum just two blocks away. While people were allowed to look at the Colosseum from a distance, Pokétopia Authority just wouldn't allow anyone near the colosseum in preparation for the Pokétopia Endurance Championship.

"It's a beautiful day, granted," Maria said as she looked into the clear blue sky above. Indeed, the sky and some clouds reflected their brilliance off the glass of the Pokétopia buildings! After Maria had finished with her minute sightseeing, she began walking through the street.

Come to that, because of her prestige, many bystanders shot curious glances at her as Maria walked. Like, come on, it wasn't every day that the double Pokétopia champion would be walking about. She looked so casual with those silver-and-black Pokétopia clothes on, and she continued to walk past the city blocks undisturbed.

Then again, Maria was only 12! What was the harm in walking around? In some sense, she was a celebrity, but she never acted like one, and Maria was perfectly fine with that.

The only thing every Pokétopia fan knew as far as Maria's popularity was concerned was that Maria had a favourite café west of the Main Street Colosseum. Indeed, that was where the current Master Senior was headed, and she had just walked past the door.

Loud talking was what was going on past the door.

"Hello," Maria said. "It's never been this busy!"

Her favourite café was overwhelmed with the unmistakable sight and sound of constant business. Almost every glass-and-metal table, let alone the seats, Maria could see was occupied by Trainers, coordinators, fans, Pokétopia staff, and more…

Whenever there was someone who had gotten up to leave, someone else would rush to take that seat in the next second. Despite being a double Pokétopia champion and recording three Masters Class wins to her name, Maria knew that it would be a miracle to find a seat.

Let alone the miracle of passing a long lineup just to get a hot drink _and then_ finding a seat.

Of course there would _those_ people who would reserve seats for their friends, but since Leon (Maria's cousin, remember?) wasn't here and Maria's friends were clearly not in Pokétopia, finding a seat was near impossible.

"Yo! I really need a seat. Right. Now!" a frustrated voice erupted from within the café's already busy atmosphere. "I've got a hot tea in my hands and it has to go somewhere cool!"

"Lass, we're all suffering in here…" a man beside the partly outraged voice. "You need to take it slow. Don't get too attached to things, young lady. Learn to let go."

And then the man received an annoyed stare so intense that he immediately got up and abandoned his seat. At the same time, the man's friend who looked more relieved to leave than most also got up and grabbed his coffee on the way out.

So the girl took the now-empty seat before anyone else had the chance to.

_Now or never_, Maria thought.

"Excuse me?" the Pokétopia champ said to the intimidating girl politely. "Is anyone else sitting here?"

But Maria was wrong at the intimidation part.

"Oh, not at all! Have a seat!" was the cheerful reply from the girl, and it was very cheerful.

Grateful, Maria took the chair opposite from the girl and took in her appearance. While Maria was 12, the girl across looked no older than 15. Messy blonde hair, with thick bangs covering the left eyebrow, was in a ponytail as opposed to Maria's brown which was neatly held with a teal Pokétopia headband. The black-and-silver Pokétopia dress Maria wore didn't contrast much with the girl's black jacket and purple minidress, but it was style. Where Maria wore black-and-silver pants that matched the design on her dress, this girl opted to wear gray-coloured short shorts.

"I'm Maria," the blue-eyed Trainer extended a hand to the purple-eyed Trainer.

"Symphony," she replied, and gladly shook Maria's hand.

Despite that short anger outburst from earlier, Maria was somewhat surprised at how pleasant this Trainer was. Plus, it seemed like Symphony had changed her personality in an instant! She was all serious about getting a hot drink somewhere, and now she seemed like a different person! This was Maria's opinion, but she had to ask.

"Did you really need to sit down that badly?" Maria couldn't help but laugh. ""Not that it's serious, but I think half the café at least could have heard your voice."

"Nah, that was just a pretext I made up to get a seat here," Symphony smiled. "I'll admit that my drink is hot to the touch nonetheless. Speaking of which, Maria, you ought to get something here too while you still have a seat. I can save yours."

Maria's face brightened, but it gradually faded over eight minutes when she lined up at the back of the queue.

* * *

And eight minutes later, Maria had a cup of hot tea in her hands made with grinded Nomel berry and, in addition, a hot berry muffin as well. She set the contents on the table and Symphony, who flashed a smile, had kept her seat reserved as promised.

"Anyway, Symphony, what are you doing in Pokétopia?" Maria said and began to tear apart her muffin. "I'm guessing you're in for the Endurance Championship."

"What else?" Symphony said as if it were obvious. "Back at my home in Goldenrod City, I've heard of incredible feats done by Trainers in the Pokétopia Championship season! (Maria shifted nervously at this) By then, I was dreaming of competing at Pokétopia! Speaking of, are you in the Endurance Championship too?"

"You got it," Maria replied.

The atmosphere continued to buzz loudly with numerous conversations like swarms of Yanmas. With little to do besides talking, the two Trainers agreed to exchange and view each other's Battle Pass. For Maria, she noted Symphony opted to use a shiny Pearl Wave design (which Maria recognised as one of the elite designs earned when battling at Courtyard Colosseum. Maria herself had seen it at Courtyard Colosseum, but refused to put in the effort to earn it). If anything, Symphony was a good Trainer.

Why, even the team looked incredibly formidable! If Maria really wanted to, she could have uploaded the Battle Pass to a nearby computer to view details of Symphony's team, but it wasn't worth it. Not when it was hard enough to find a seat in the café.

Instead, Maria and Symphony continued their conversation.

"Which Pokémon is your favourite? Mind if I ask?" Maria said.

Symphony appeared pleased, as the emotion was reflected in her purple eyes. "I've a really cute Minccino named Colette: she's been my battling companion, and my friend, in almost everywhere I've been. Between you and me, Maria, lots of Trainers I've faced underestimate her because of her size and moveset, but she's got a powerful heart to match!"

Maria grinned. "In the Endurance Championship, you're going to need a lot more than firepower to keep you going. That's great to hear how close you are to your Colette."

Symphony put down her hot drink and looked at Maria for a few seconds.

"That reminds me," Symphony said. "Who's your closest Pokémon, since you've asked me?"

Maria gave back the Pearl Wave Battle Pass and exchanged it for her own pass with the Sunset Colosseum design.

"It's my Gardevoir," she answered. "My long-time companion since I started the Pokétopia Championship three years ago when she was still a Kirlia –"

But a loud commotion prevented Maria from talking any more.

"Maria!" a voice shouted.

"Ms. Maria! What's your opinion on how the Endurance Championship will turn out?"

Dozens of news and press reporters poured into the café, much to the annoyance of the café staff. However, these reporters were in fact not employed by Pokétopia but rather came from other regions. Maria, like everyone who participated here, had no obligation to answer them.

"How do you think the challengers will handle the endurance ahead?"

"Could you, double Pokétopia champion, lose the title despite your prestige?"

But Maria, ignoring the reporters, quickly stood up with an annoyed expression. Turning to Symphony, she softly said, "Want to go to Main Street Colosseum?"

The older Trainer of the two downed the last contents of her drink and nodded. Maria alone finished her muffin in silence and the duo walked out of the café in a hurry. The foreign reporters were unable to catch up because of the crowded atmosphere in the café! They tried to move forward, but they were yelled at by other customers for taking wanted seats.

In short, Maria and Symphony had disappeared!

* * *

Outside, the said Trainers were walking through the much quieter atmosphere on Main Street. The café normally was a lively place, but it turned out to be _too_ lively for this particular day. Looking back, Symphony was glad she had left the café. Those foreign reporters were causing a blockage at the entrance and were making it hard for just about everyone to enter the café to get a coffee.

"But you know, Maria, why did those reporters come for you, anyway?" the 15-year old asked, but before an answer came her eyes widened. "They said 'double Pokétopia champion'… wait! You're Maria Lougheed… the youngest Trainer to have won two championship titles!"

But Maria held up a hand as a polite gesture for silence, in which Symphony calmed down.

"It's nothing too special," Maria said innocently. "I like to be modest, so I don't talk about it much in public unless I really felt like it. If you think that I'll look down on you because you haven't been in a championship season which I can tell you haven't yet, consider yourself wrong!"

Symphony relaxed and then changed the topic as they walked past the archive library and further eastward on Main Street. At this point, the large plaza that hosted Main Street Colosseum, and massive Pachirisu and Bidoof balloons, was in sight from the distance.

"But those reporters have a point, though," the young girl said. "What kinds of challengers and participants are we expecting to fight?"

Maria held a small smile as they walked, but she was semi-deep in thought. "They'd have to be really consistent teams. Just having a lot of firepower, like we said earlier, won't cut it for endurance. Besides, you and I know Pokétopia Authority's going to regulate and limit the strength of all Pokémon too to ensure equal fighting chances. A team is more than strength."

Symphony figured it out. Her Colette and Maria's Gardevoir were testaments to that.

"You're talking about the hearts and spirits of Pokémon and Trainers," she said.

"Exactly."

Maria and Symphony, as they walked ever closer to the colosseum, were left to wonder exactly what kinds of Pokémon and Trainers they would meet in the Pokétopia Endurance Championship. Like Maria said, a team is more than strength.

* * *

**OCs are now closed! But if you still want to contribute, I'll try to make the most of it.**

**Rules:**

**Now, to start, I will accept OCs by PM ONLY and NEVER BY REVIEW. If you are a guest reader, review, but I will moderate and remove the review afterward. But feel free to review the chapter itself if you like.**

**It is pointless to mention the level of the Pokémon of the Trainer because, according to Poketopia and the game, the stats will be reduced or increased to level 50. Feel free to add not-so-powerful Pokémon to the team. In endurance, a Bulbasaur could defeat a Rhyperior easy or even an Emboar! The only Pokémon I do not encourage is Magikarp or Feebas.**

**And, obviously, legendary Pokémon are not acceptable.**

**Furthermore, a team built with nearly all attack moves is less likely to survive the Endurance Championship. No items may be held.**

**The basic OC form as established by thesecretkeeper11:**

**Name: (first and last name)**

**Gender: (male or female)**

**Age: (between 9 to 28, where I will assume )**

**Personality: being descriptive here allows me to limit how far I can go to use your character (examples: romantic, friendly, not-so-friendly, etc.)**

**Region/Hometown: (must be real)**

**Class: choose between Battle Class (Trainer) or Contest Class (Coordinator). I can guess that most of you will opt for Battle Class, so if there isn't at least one submission for Contest Class from all readers, this story will not continue!**

**Hair: (colour)**

**Eyes: (colour)**

**Outfit: be reasonably descriptive: basics are tops (sweaters and shirts, etc.), bottom (jeans, etc.), and shoes. Headwear, glasses, gloves, and bags are optional, but encouraged. Be creative, but keep it simple!**

**Battle Pass Design: choose one from Ball Mosaic Red, Ball Mosaic Aqua, Ball Mosaic Sepia, Stream Blue, Stream Pink, Stream Green, Star Green, Star Yellow, Star Pink, Plus Minus, Light Pastel, Shiny Cobalt, Diamond Dust, Pearl Wave, Poketopia Gold, Poketopia Silver.**

**Note that I reserve the right to switch one of your Pokemon should you opt for Poketopia Gold or Silver.**

**Pokémon Team: 6 Pokémon is strongly encouraged to withstand the Endurance Championship.**

**Pokémon name:**

**Nickname: (optional)**

**Nature:**

**Ability:**

**Moveset: (include status moves to increase chances of surviving, but not too much that it will backfire on you. This doesn't mean all Pokémon have to have a status move!).**

**There you have it! The OC form similar to thesecretkeeper11's. Send the form by PM only and not be review, or the form will be rejected.**


	3. Prelude to Endurance

**Here it is. It was a little hard to write, but I hope I can still manage!**

**I initially wanted ten participants for each class, but due to a lack of submissions I am reducing it to eight each now.**

* * *

_**Chapter three: Prelude to Endurance**_

Where Maria and Symphony were (that is, Main Street), a crowd of people had gathered just a block away from the colosseum. Curious; the two Trainers went over to check out the commotion.

Despite the numbers of people, Trainers or Coordinators, it was easy to tell what was going on. The thing was: a huge message had been projected on a nearby building for the public to see. The message itself stretched two storeys high.

"Figure, this should be useful," Symphony said. "A scoring system."

Maria arched her head upward to read the huge notice top to bottom.

**Pokétopia Endurance Championship Scoring System**

**Championship points are awarded according to a set criteria used by Pokétopia Authority. Participants' points will be awarded by only judges at the end of the session. At the closure of the colosseum, and after it has hosted Battle and Contest Class sessions over two days, the participants who achieve points in the top three will be recognised as podium finishes and are eligible to stand on the podium as the colosseum officially closes. In addition, should more than one participant have the same number of points at the closure, they will be recognised on the podium also, and will receive the rightful number of championship points.**

**Scoring evaluation (Battle Class):**

**Performance: 5 points**

**Efficiency: 5 points**

**Endurance: 5 points**

**Scoring evaluation (Contest Class):**

**Talent: 5 points**

**Coordination: 5 points**

**Endurance: 5 points**

**Notices:**

– **Battle Class Endurance points are evaluated up to 24 points at Courtyard Colosseum**

– **Battle Class Efficiency points are evaluated up to 15 points at Neon Colosseum**

– **Contest Class Efficiency points are evaluated up to 22 points at Courtyard Colosseum**

– **Endurance points account for how long the Pokémon team of interest is able to sustain pace and how many matches the participant has endured/survived.**

– **Contest Class Talent and Coordination points are, for Pokétopia's own sense of pressure, evaluated up to 10 points each at Neon Colosseum.**

– **IMPORTANT: only the championship points, obviously, determine where the Trainer/Coordinator will end up on the championship standings. Points earned by judge's evaluations will not count toward the final outcome.**

**– ALSO IMPORTANT: Points earned by judge's evaluations on the first of two sessions are counted as a separate result. Should the participant complete a second session, the points earned by evaluation are counted as also a separate result. Consequently, the organizing committee and Pokétopia Authority will choose the better result to count as the final outcome.**

**Regular Championship points (except for Courtyard and Neon Colosseums)**

**1****st**** – 10 points**

**2****nd**** – 8 points**

**3****rd**** – 6 points**

**4****th**** – 5 points**

**5****th**** – 4 points**

**6****th**** – 3 points**

**7****th**** – 2 points**

**8****th**** – 1 point**

**Courtyard Colosseum points / Neon Colosseum points (respectively)**

**1****st**** – 14 points/12 points**

**2****nd**** – 12 points/10 points**

**3****rd**** – 10 points/8 points**

**4****th**** – 9 points/7 points**

**5****th**** – 8 points/6 points**

**6****th**** – 7 points/5 points**

**7****th**** – 6 points/4 points**

**8****th**** – 5 points/3 points**

"Yeah, it looks straightforward enough," Symphony commented, and then she looked at the clock for time, despite having a watch already. "Oh, I've got to go in ten minutes."

But they were near the colosseum anyway. Main Street Colosseum: a battling ground situated in a plaza with a humongous balloon watching it in the form of a Pachirisu and another in the shape of a Bidoof. Since the colosseum itself was high, it was only possible to view the battle from the high ground (that is, tourist balconies).

The two Trainers walked further into the plaza overshadowed by tall buildings. Of course, the only thing that made the area feel different was that the colosseum had been closed off. Other than that, Main Street Colosseum was quiet.

"Well, we're at the colosseum now," Symphony said. "Say, Maria, is there another reason why you've come here? I'm guessing it's not just because you're sightseeing."

Maria shrugged. "I have a meeting with Pokétopia judges to discuss tomorrow's Contest Class session. Plus, we had to get away from those reporters, you know."

"Well, my step-family's place isn't far from here," Symphony grinned and turned onto another street. "It's arguably right next to the colosseum, give or take a city block. Speaking of, where in Pokétopia do you live?"

The double Pokétopia champ paused, but softened her expression after. "At Sunset Village. I live with my cousin there whenever Pokétopia hosts something special."

Symphony began to head for one of the apartment buildings on the nearby street as Maria went for the security checkpoint at the colosseum. Where Symphony would be entering the apartment buildings via elevator, Maria would be first handing her Battle Pass to the guard before heading to a separate elevator under the colosseum.

But at the last second Maria casually tapped Symphony's shoulder.

"Before I go, I was just wondering…" she began. "Since Trainers and Coordinators come from all over the world to battle or watch here, where's your hometown?"

Now it was Symphony's turn to pause and relax. "I'm from Goldenrod City."

Maria smiled. "You know, I thought you would have been. I've heard lots of talented Trainers come from there."

"Then, where are _you_ from? Judging by how you're speaking, I'm guessing you're not from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, or even Sinnoh," Symphony said.

"I'm from the City of LaRousse. You might have heard of it, or not, but there're only a handful of skilled Trainers from a place like that," Maria said. "LaRousse is literally across the ocean from Goldenrod City. But yeah… you could say I'm technically from Hoenn, but in a much more northern part of the region."

It was amusing for the blue-eyed Trainer to see that her friend's jaw had dropped slightly.

"LaRousse!" Symphony shouted in a moderate tone. "And you said that only a handful of skilled Trainers come from there. Are you kidding me?"

Maria snuck an innocent smile. "Okay, I was only being modest. We have a Battle Tower there, and to be more exact there're only an elite number of Trainers there. I'm not the greatest Trainer to come from LaRousse, but I guess –"

"Yet," Symphony interrupted, "you're a double Pokétopia champion. Lest we forget about your Masters Class…"

Silence.

It was ironic that it was _literally_ quiet at Main Street Colosseum.

"I was only trying to be modest again," Maria finally said, and then she turned to the elevator. Symphony smiled and shook her head.

They both had schedules to keep, so it was definitely time to go. After they exchanged friendly good-byes, they went on their way. Maria approached the security checkpoint and handed her Sunset Colosseum Battle Pass for clearance before using the elevator to enter the colosseum above. Indeed, it was built inside and under the battleground.

In a matter of ten minutes from when she first arrived, Maria met with the organizing committee for the Endurance Championship, Pokétopia Authority, and the Main Street Colosseum Leader.

"Unacceptable, Maria! You're a minute late! Come on! The meeting's starting!" one of the two Pokétopia Authority representatives shook his head. Come to that, it was in shame. Maria, in response, bowed her head slightly.

"Cut her some slack, man!" the other rep said. "She's only 12!"

Maria took her seat, and the committee began a short briefing.

"Now, as I was saying," the committee leader said, "as a judge for Contest Class or Battle Class you will be assigned a specific… discipline to evaluate as the session proceeds. Here on in, you will stick with this role until the end of the championship season."

Maria began to worry she was going to get bored. Quickly.

* * *

A very cold breeze had rushed through Main Street as Symphony made her way back to her place (that is, her step-family's spacious apartment). It was cold, and Symphony couldn't wait to go indoors for a few minutes. It was sunny, so why did it have to be cold and windy so suddenly?

People were starting to put on coats or jackets to shield themselves from the wind. Symphony, who already wore a black jacket to begin with, had no need to put one on. But it was still a cold breeze nonetheless.

Surprisingly, she could see only a handful of people out there who _did not_ wear coats or jackets, let alone a sweater. For example, she could see two boys, and 11-year old and a 16-year old, chatting away. As Symphony passed them, she was amused to see they were both wearing t-shirts and jeans.

The 11-year old looked like he was struggling to withstand the cold breeze as he talked.

The 16-year old, however, appeared perfectly normal, as if the cold was something to embrace.

"Colette, it's cold, don't you think?" Symphony said to her trusted Minchinno.

The chinchilla-like Pokémon couldn't agree more.

With black boots hitting against the pavement, and the wind blowing against her locks and ponytail, Symphony quickly walked to the entrance of her step-family's apartment. Modern as the building may be, Symphony liked it better now it was warm. Not that she couldn't handle the cold, she could manage that, it's just that it was better overall to be indoors!

* * *

"Look, can't we go in now? Get a hot drink at the café or something?" the 11-year old, namely Colin, said to the 16-year old in shivers.

"It is _fine…_" the 16-year old Connor replied.

The fact that Colin was from Goldenrod City and Connor was from Snowpoint City didn't help. Connor, who had adapted into the cold too well, could've worn shorts in place of jeans if he wanted, but out of respect for the public he didn't.

"Besides, the café is unusually busy today," he added.

Although there were blue skies and sunshine flooding above Pokétopia, there were also a considerable number of white clouds to go with it. With the amount of wind blowing, the clouds had effectively blocked out much of the sun and its warmth; sending a chill over the Pokétopia metropolis.

It was hard to believe it was still morning… approaching midday, and for midday: it was cold!

While Trainers, Coordinators, tourists, fans, and pretty much every visitor to Pokétopia were enjoying what the resort had to offer for the day, Pokétopia Authority and the organisers were concentrating their efforts preparing to open the colosseums. Joe, the Gateway Colosseum Master in his suit, and Taylor, the Main Street Colosseum Leader wearing her Pachirisu-themed costume, were present at the meeting also.

"Let's recap," the Pokétopia Authority rep said. "Each Colosseum Leader of Master will be responsible for opening and closing their respective colosseum. Also, I needn't remind you that the disciplines for evaluating a session have been allotted, and that the scores are listed when the session ends only. In case you forget, you are welcome to watch replays of the match to ramp your decision."

Here at the meeting, the committee and the Colosseum Leaders and Masters were sitting in rows and watching the Pokétopia Authority rep presenting the plans via projection.

"Rosie will be spearheading this season's Contest Class judging the Talent category, special guest Maria Lougheed will evaluate Efficiency, and Joe will test Endurance. As for Battle Class, the Pokétopia executive and Stargazer Colosseum Master Mysterial will be the driving force behind judging: he will judge Performance, and the rest will be covered by us at the Authority. At the end of a session, Rosie and Mysterial will announce the podium finishes at the colosseum's closure. So, I suggest you all sleep early tonight. Endurance is something no one, including ourselves, should underestimate."

They watched the rep pace from side to side. To make his point, the projection showed how the judging categories were allotted with names. Additionally, there were portraits beside the names.

"Basically, when you have finished judging, upload the scores onto the standings, since each of you will be given a computer to judge anyway."

For Maria, and for being only 12-years old, this was exhausting to even listen to this. Yes, she knew it was important, but listening for over an hour was pushing it. It was a good thing the meeting was closing.

* * *

"_Fireworks will be presented at Gateway Colosseum tonight to celebrate the opening of the Pokétopia Endurance Championship_," the broadcast said. "_Don't miss it. It's worth it!_"

Leon Pinetree looked at the clock to see that it was only afternoon. Yet, it felt more like it was approaching twilight if anything else. As much as he'd like to head outside, he couldn't. Not when Maria hadn't come back. Maybe he ought to accompany her to the fireworks show.

He helped himself to a glass of water and decided to walk around Sunset Village instead. What was the harm walking away from the house for a few minutes?

But by the time Leon had time to put on his 'cool' white hat with a silver trim and went to the door, he found Maria waiting outside.

"Finished with your meeting, Maria? How'd it go?"

Maria forced a humourless smile. "It was tiring. I'm thinking of sleeping early tonight, so… that's why I'm back right now."

But Leon had other plans. "No way, Maria. You can't miss the fireworks show and the opening celebration. Sure, we had the ceremony this morning, but still."

He watched his little cousin take a Poké Ball out of her bag and threw it.

"Fine… but Gardevoir gets to come."

Already Leon had locked the door and began to walk to the PTR station still smiling. "Whatever you say, Maria. Whatever you say."

He knew Maria would be annoyed at the answer.

* * *

Like the opening ceremony from the morning earlier, celebrations were apparent at Gateway Colosseum once more. This time, however, it was night and the backdrop of Pokétopia at night proved to be exceedingly moving. Literally, the metropolis was reflected on the water and added to the sense of celebration.

Maria and Leon were standing together at one of the four colosseum stands alongside at least a hundred others. For all they knew, it might have been a thousand.

"You have to admit, there are a lot of pretty girls in Pokétopia this season," Maria nudged her cousin's side. "I'm surprised you haven't dated yet, Leon!"

Leon bluntly dropped a fist on top of Maria's head. "Behave!"

"Ow..." but she smiled anyway, despite the small whiff of pain on her head (thus, she had to massage it with a hand). Sometimes, or many times, it was fun to poke at Leon's romantic life, and especially when he never had one.

At the centre of the colosseum, the Colosseum Master (Joe) and Mysterial (the executive) stood there with headsets on their ears as they prepared for the show.

Numerous photos were shot with flash as TV broadcasters recorded the occasion. News and media with permission from Pokétopia Authority continued their coverage of the opening celebration in addition to their broadcast of the Endurance Championship.

Tension only rose in every section of Gateway Colosseum except in the middle, where Joe and Mysterial were standing and taking in the atmosphere around them. Joe cleared his throat, and the entire colosseum fell quiet.

"To everyone in this celebration, whether you're watching now or listening to a broadcast!" Joe shouted. "I'd like to welcome you to the Pokétopia Endurance Championship!"

Almost instantly after he shouted "championship", red fireworks from all around Gateway Colosseum simultaneously rocketed upward to the night sky, and beautifully decorated Pokétopia's skyline and painted sparks on the pitch-black ocean waters.

More and more fireworks of every shape and colour followed. Why, there were even fireworks bursting in the air in the shapes of Pokémon! Cheers echoed through the sky from spectators everywhere. Whether they were in Gateway Colosseum at the moment, resting comfortably in a Pokétopia hotel, gathering at Main Street to watch the celebration on an enormous TV screen, or simply standing at the waterfront to watch the fireworks; everyone had a reason to celebrate.

The Pokétopia Endurance Championship had officially begun.

* * *

**There is literally one spot out of ten left in the Battle Class entry list but there're still THREE spots left in the Contest Class entry list! Anyway, in order this story to continue, both entry lists have to be full, or I will DISCONTINUE this story. PM me your OC! If there're too many submissions, please trust me to be flexible and I'll give them honourable mention anyway.**

**Please see the OC form in chapter 2.**

**Remember: I'm accepting by PM only and never by review. If you don't have a FF account, though, feel free to review to submit.**


	4. Dark and Early for Spicy Food

**It's getting really hard to write for me lately. So much homework... and I have a writer's block.**

**I'm still trying to write this story too, and...**

**I still don't have a full entry list!**

**The OCs are the property of their respective owners.**

* * *

_**Chapter four: Dark and Early for Spicy Food**_

"Up and at 'em! It's morning!"

Dark and early as it may seem, the streets of Pokétopia were just bright enough to see just about anything in the city. Street lights were still on, and the sun hadn't risen over the ocean yet. The skies, however, were foreshadowing the coming of a bright day.

"_Please…_" said the muffled voice from under the covers. "_Let me sleep._"

"It's better to be up and early than later! The Contest Class session will start in around three hours! Come on, man!"

Connor DuPont jumped out of his bed immediately and began to dress up. Regular-sized jeans and a light blue polo shirt made up most of his appearance, if not counting a pair of typical black sneakers. Indeed, as he dressed in the Pokétopia suite, he couldn't help but remark how _modern_ Pokétopia managed to keep this place.

"Breakfast is served downstairs," his cousin reminded him. "You might as well have it on the go. Grab something on the way out, yeah?"

Connor began packing his things into his navy backpack, including his five Pokémon, and a bottle of fresh water. Additionally, he also opted to wear a pair of glasses too.

Last but not least Connor grabbed his Light Pastel Battle Pass on the way out.

While he waited on the elevator to arrive, he realised he wasn't the only one who chose to get up early and down. Another boy arrived to wait at the elevator.

"Good morning," the boy said.

As shy as he could be, Connor didn't show it. His dark brown eyes shifted to see the boy more clearly. In Connor's opinion, this boy who seemed younger than Connor by several years had an unappealing appearance.

Consider this: a black t-shirt, black_ combat_ pants, black _combat_ boots, a black bag, a black vest with blue-and-orange checker pattern made up this boy's apparel. Never mind the silver belt, the diamond piercings, the blue scarf, the orange tie, or the sunglasses over his black-and-blue-and-orange city hat. Or even the shiny Pokétopia Gold Battle Pass in his hand. Or the platinum blond hair.

Or even the unnatural colour of the eyes: a purple one and a red one.

Talk about unappealing! Connor subsequently kept quiet.

"Hey," the boy said, and for once Connor actually noticed that the voice was polite, to say the least. "Is something bothering you?"

"Nothing at all," Connor replied.

The boy seemed unconvinced, but extended a hand. "My name's Evangelina, or Eva for short."

In that moment, Connor tried to hold back a small laugh. Although he succeeded in holding it, the thing was that Eva could tell he tried.

"What's so funny?" he raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know," the dark brown-eyed boy answered. "It's just that… don't you think that your name sounds – no offense – feminine?!"

The elevator doors sounded to signal the arrival of – well – the elevator. Before Eva had a chance to reply, they had to get into the elevator first. He went in, and Connor followed.

"Blame my family," Eva said. "It's sort of a tradition we've had for decades and they would always name their third child Evangelina no matter what the circumstance."

It was a fast and silent trip on the way down, but Eva knew that Connor must be laughing inside. Still, Eva would have to get used to that. Hadn't he already had similar experiences back home at Twinleaf Town in Sinnoh?

"I'm not laughing. Seriously," Connor tried to make up for some humour.

The two boys walked out of the elevator to the residence suite lobby. Already, they could smell the delicious aroma of a hearty breakfast not too far from the 12 and 16 year olds. Casually, they walked over there to have breakfast.

It was fortunate that it was dark and early in the morning. Although there were plenty of people in the kitchens working away and staff cleaning the tables and floors, there were next-to-no people sitting at the tables. The dining hall was virtually empty.

"Morning, Colin!" Connor waved to the 11-year old boy sitting alone at a distant table. "Mind if we join you?"

"You don't have to shout across the room, yo!" Colin called back. "I can hear you just fine!"

Eva scoffed. "I guess we can safely say that's a yes."

As usual, Colin was wearing his regular green t-shirt with a Poké Ball and jeans.

They politely took seats at Colin's table, and already Connor and Eva began to feel hungry. Judging by the cup of juice, a plate with croissants and fruit, it was no wonder that Connor immediately got up and went to help himself.

"Eva, this is Colin," Connor gestured. "Colin, this is Eva."

"You guys are up early," the 11-year old shook hands with Eva. "What did you say your name was?"

"Evangelina," Eva said. "Or Eva, if you'd like."

Eva was dead certain that Colin had tried to laugh, but there was no reaction.

Yet, the moment was broken by Connor, who didn't take long picking out foods before returning with a plate of waffles on a tray and a coffee. The food was set down on the table shortly after.

"Breakfast is served," Connor said, and began to pick up his fork and eat.

Eva and Colin watched him eat, and then Eva got up.

"I think I'll get some food too," he said, and then he left.

After that, Colin and Connor turned to their meals in near silence, and they continued to eat.

"What are your plans now?" Connor asked. "The Battle Class session doesn't start until somewhere around midday. I'm in Contest Class, but still…"

Colin put down his fork briefly, and picked it up again. "I thought I'd take some time exploring Pokétopia while it's early. Since I have lots of time, I thought it'd be nice to see what the resort has to offer. I might even check out the islands around here, and maybe drop by Main Street to watch the competition too."

He speared a kiwi slice and put it in his mouth.

Knowing there wasn't much to say, and also knowing that his breakfast would get cold soon, Connor also continued to eat. From the looks of it, it looked like a regular breakfast morning. They would bite, chew, swallow, and maybe have a sip of their drinks.

"Dark and early in the morning, and what better way to start the day with spice!" Eva proudly stated, with an evident tone of satire.

An aroma of spicy tomato sauce wafted through the air. It was strong. It was spicy. It, from a fair distance, could reach the noses of Colin and Connor from twenty paces away.

_It definitely smells spicy_, Colin thought. _Maybe I ought to get some too._

By then, one or two more Trainers showed up in the dining hall for breakfast. For Colin, he had just finished his.

* * *

Meanwhile at Sunset Village, where it was much darker since it was on the western part of Pokétopia, Maria Lougheed woke up with the sensation of tears. She was crying, but for no reason at all! She was sniffling, and crying. Tears slid down her cheek and soaked into the pillow.

But she knew exactly why.

"Argh! Leon!" Maria jumped out of bed and stormed downstairs to the hardwood flooring of the kitchen. As Maria ran downstairs, she was literally in tears as she walked down the stairs, and the closer she got to the kitchen, the harder she cried. It didn't help that once she got there, Leon was standing before a very bad mess: a spicy red puddle had splattered on the floor.

"Ah, sorry, Maria," Leon grinned. "I seem to have accidentally broken a huge bottle of boiling spicy sauce as I was making breakfast. Would you mind cleaning it up?"

The question was rhetorical, because Leon knew that Maria always cried when she was in the presence of any spicy food. Mild spicy was at the limit where she couldn't cry, and anything spicier would send Maria in tears.

No wonder –Leon knew – Maria didn't like cayenne pepper in her omelette.

"Waah…!" Maria seized the tissue box from the countertop and walked away to the outside balcony. As quickly as she could, she grabbed a tissue and wiped her tears away, but more came to replace them. Tissue after tissue replaced the ones she had used.

Leon soaked a massive hand towel and began to clean up the floor. Additionally, he sent out his Octillery to make the cleanup process faster.

"If we don't get this place cleaned up, Maria won't be having breakfast," Leon said. His Pokémon nodded approvingly and began to spray bursts of water on the floor. Leon, meanwhile, went to find a mop, and possibly some soap.

Meanwhile, Maria was standing outside wiping her tears and blowing her nose with tissues. Already, she started to stop crying, but the spicy scent still lingered around. For her, it was unbearable, but at the very least she'd be doing herself a favour by venting out the horrid spicy smell.

She sniffed. She coughed. She rubbed her eyes with tissues. Eventually, Maria could tell that the spicy smell had dispersed, but she was still sniffling.

"It's okay!" Leon called out. "Maria, you can come back in now! Octillery and I have cleaned up the mess! You wouldn't want to miss breakfast, would you?"

The thing was, when Maria walked back in she could still smell the strong spicy scent lingering in the air. Silently, she felt a tear roll down her cheek.

"Now, don't cry on me now," Leon warned. "You've got a box of tissues still in your hands."

Reluctantly, Maria grabbed a mop and began to clean up the mess too. She knew they had to be quick, since Leon was participating in the Contest Class session and Maria would be on the judging committee.

But by the time the two cousins were having breakfast – eating a bowl of simple tomato-and-bean chili with chickpeas – Maria dropped her spoon and began to cry again. Runny nose first, then tears, and finally hiccups from the Master Senior.

"Leon! What did you put in here?!" Maria said. Her voice caught between whining and choking. The _tears_ streamed down her face and started to drip off her jaw and splashing on her Pokétopia dress.

"It's only chipotle," Leon raised his hands in defence. "Okay, maybe not. It sure tastes nice, but I thought adding a healthy concentrated shot of sun-ripened chili powder – and a fragment of a Spelon Berry – was the best way to spice up your life. You need zest!"

"You're mean! Mean! Mean! Mean!" Maria cried.

Leon grinned. But still, he got of his seat to reach the fridge and took out a large bottle of Aloe Vera water. As slowly as he could, just for Maria, he poured out a glass for her.

* * *

There is a building near the front of the metropolis strongly resembling a Magnezone. It is here where all technical data gathered in Pokétopia is stored – including battle highlights and live broadcasts of Pokémon competitions. It is also here where Pokétopia Authority chooses what to present to the public.

"Here is the unofficial entry list for the PEC," the Pokétopia Authority rep handed over a data table to a technician. "Be sure to display it to the public at the crack of dawn."

"But it's already dawn!" the technician joked. "Alright, I'll get it uploaded."

Soon enough, the data was uploaded onto the technical mainframe and – at the huge broadcasting screen in Main Street – the names were displayed for everyone to see.

**Pokétopia Endurance Championship Unofficial Entry List**

**Battle Class**

**Rhianne 'Anne' Barrestein**

**Joshua Capewell**

**Colin Coakley**

**Maria Lougheed**

**Symphony Moore**

**Aiden Quinn**

**Lucas Vermont**

**(pending…)**

**Contest Class**

**Connor DuPont**

**Evangelina 'Eva' Hawkelizer**

**Veronica Holmquist**

**Leon Pinetree**

**Honey 'Celestia' Starr**

**(pending…)**

**(pending…)**

**(pending…)**

Symphony Moore stood outside the front doors of the Pokétopia main office in her purple minidress and gray picnic shorts. Oddly, for a dark and early morning, she was eating a light blue-coloured bar of sea-salt ice cream.

She wasn't bound to appear for the Battle Class session at Main Street Colosseum yet, nor was she ready for the session at Gateway Colosseum yet. But, Symphony didn't want to spend her entire morning at home either.

Or her Minccino, Colette, who was walking beside her.

In one hand she bit off small chunks of the sea-salt ice cream on a stick, and in the other hand she looked at her Battle Pass: a radiant Pearl Wave design with her portrait and her team of six Pokémon.

In the dim Main Street, a busy day was foreshadowed by the very faint whistling of the PTR rail lines and the dimming lights of the showcase Pokétopia buildings. Incredibly, Symphony seemed to notice for the first time, there was also an HSBC branch (Hoenn and Sinnoh Banking Corporation) located on the ground floor near the Pokétopia main office.

_I wonder…_, Symphony thought.

Generally, to get around Pokétopia whether by PTR, flight, or marine travel, there was always a small fee to pay to accommodate costs which would likely explain the need for the HSBC bank. However, aside from paying separately for meals and entertainment, there was also a small admission fee of 100 Pokedollars to watch the events live – with some exceptions.

Symphony wondered if she, a participant in the Endurance Championship, could be allowed free entry to watch the Contest Class events as well. With her Pearl Wave Battle Pass in her hand, Symphony knew well enough that it specified her ID number and her home region.

But there was a new description she hadn't seen before, and she was pleasantly surprised.

**Entrants in an ongoing event or championship sanctioned by Pokétopia Authority, or a previous participant in a recent Pokétopia Championship season, are guaranteed complimentary admissions to that respective championship as specified by the current status below.**

**CURRENT STATUS: the bearer of this Battle Pass is granted complimentary guest admissions to events in the Pokétopia Endurance Championship.**

**Authorised/Authorized by Pokétopia Authority**

Symphony sat down on a Main Street park bench and continued to eat her ice cream. As she enjoyed her treat, her Miniccino's ears perked.

"What is it, Colette?"

But right after she said this, she smelled a very delicious aroma coming from a short distance away. She looked to her right, and could see a comfortable-looking bistro a block away from where she was.

It was the smell of a spicy dish on a grill. Even though there was only one person who had come to eat, the certain dish he was having had a strong dish.

Fortunately, Symphony had a breakfast to begin with, and had no craving for spicy food… yet. Nevertheless, the food smelled nice. Besides, she still had a bar of sea-salt ice cream to finish.

Now she had a few moments sitting alone, Symphony noticed that Main Street was as brilliant in the early morning as it was in daytime or at night. It was quiet, barely busy, and asleep. It wouldn't be long before it would be busy again at around noon.

_But honestly, that spicy dish sure smells nice!_ Symphony thought.

Nevertheless, Colette appeared hungry and seemingly _begging_ for a taste of a spicy dish. Symphony eventually gave in to Colette's pleas and walked to the bistro. They walked across a still empty Main Street and approached the eating place.

Minutes later, Symphony and Colette walked out of the bistro each holding two kebabs. No surprise that these kebabs were laced with spices, herbs, and an unreasonably spicy pepper the bistro claimed could cause burning sensations to the hands if not consumed properly. But, Symphony figured as she ate it with small bites, how bad could it be? She had eaten many kinds of spicy food before.

Within the minute, Symphony was running around Main Street in panic; looking for anywhere that sold bars of sea-salt ice cream.

* * *

**Note: "Pending..." on the entry list above means I need that amount of OCs to continue this story! Please PM them to me!**


	5. The Way to Start a Day

**You don't _know_ how hard it is to integrate a whole bunch of OCs into a storyline until you've tried to write one yourself, which would explain why I'm taking so long. Still, here is a finished chapter... at last!**

**Honourable mentions for making the story's progress possible: thesecretkeeper11, Snowsheba, LeafyLucario64, thegreatest777, reven228, SDproductions, TissueMonster, APHLync13, and seth98.**

**Special thanks to: thesecretkeeper11 for being the inspiration of writing this story.**

* * *

_**Chapter five: The Way to Start a Day**_

Across the volcanic island sheltering Magma Colosseum, east of the Pokétopia main island, was a series of smaller islands. These small tropical islands in particular sheltered a very soothing residential bloc complete with numerous sandy beaches and crystal-clear waters. Lush, green, miniature mountains popped out of the shallow waters like they were huge green land masses. Indeed, they made up a good part of the tropical islands here.

Much earlier when Pokétopia Authority decided to expand their borders away from the main island and searching in other places, they came across these islands along with the huge volcanic island. Within two years, Pokétopia Authority had commissioned the development of two large-scale projects. For the volcanic island, they would construct a suspended colosseum deep inside the volcano. The colosseum would be suspended by chains alone over live, dangerous, lava whilst taking safety into concern. It was not easy. Since then, Pokétopia Authority had kept the lava controlled and severely regulated – and the responsibility fell upon the Colosseum's young leader Terrell.

The second project was to construct a very remote, private resort on the smaller islands. Much more peaceful and cooler than its volcano counterpart, Pokétopia ordered a small wood-and-stone colosseum to be built on a huge sandbar – spot in the flowing space between many more islands. Soothing ocean water flowed around the colosseum.

Hence, the Lagoon Colosseum became a highly successful destination for Pokétopia privateers and veterans looking for a more peaceful sense of recreational battling. Not like the high-end competition found at the ten main Colosseums. Better yet, at least half of Pokétopia visitors weren't aware of its presence, thanks to the Lagoon Colosseum's reputation of keeping quiet.

It is not possible to access the Lagoon Colosseum by foot or by rail. Ferry was the only option. Taking a Buizel ferry or a Mantyke ferry from Pokétopia became the way to go, and soon Pokétopia had a popular low-profit business with ferry rides. PTR wouldn't _dare_ to build a rail bridging Pokétopia to the lagoon, let alone a rail to Magma Colosseum. It would be expensive, and it would damage the oceanic environmental waters.

When the Lagoon Colosseum started to become better known by 'quiet' visitors, Pokétopia Authority began a project to build three-storey condominiums near the Lagoon Colosseum. Investors were attracted to this project and supported the construction efforts with money, ideas, and plans. The biggest investor, Colosseum Master Kruger, supported the project financially and professionally until completion. In the end, the Lagoon Resort became a vacationing spot with homes, resort beaches, and open grill restaurants.

Of course, Pokétopia Authority offered rooms at the Lagoon Resort for championship participants who were interested.

Indeed, the Lagoon Resort offered a rewarding view of a sunrise over the ocean waters. Arguably, some said that the Lagoon Resort had the best view of the sunlight in all of Pokétopia. (However, Sunset Village, where Maria Lougheed privately lived, had an equally rivalling view of the sunset!)

Nevertheless, Lagoon Resort was deliberately made to be small as well.

For 17-year old Aidan Quinn, the expression 'quiet' seemed to fit him best with the Lagoon Resort. He didn't hesitate once the offer showed up on his doorstep. In a week preceding the Pokétopia Endurance Championship, he had brought his luggage with him from Main Street to Crystal Colosseum via PTR, and then took a Buizel ferry to the Lagoon Resort.

While Aidan belonged to the Battle Class, he just didn't want to miss out on the championship opener at Main Street.

So, Aidan left his condo and began to head for the ferry terminal. Along the way, he brought his white messenger bag. The bag in question had a hand-embroidered picture of his Pokémon team. For this Trainer, he treasured the bag like the Pokémon on it.

"Rotisserie pineapples!" a voice shouted from behind. "Yo, Aidan! Care for a bite?"

"I'm good, thank you," Aidan replied to the 18-year old. "Go and help yourself. Besides, Lucas, you wouldn't want to miss out on the championship opener, would you?"

Lucas Vermont rolled his eyes, but went on eating his pineapple. For a place such as the Lagoon Resort, Aidan found it peculiar that Lucas always wore that blue coat around, let alone having gold epaulettes on the shoulders, and blue dress pants. Well, at least a white t-shirt was clearly visible as well. To Lucas' credit, there was a considerable ocean breeze flowing through the lagoon.

Aidan continued to walk through the Lagoon Resort for the ferry terminal – but stopped when he smelled the wafting aroma of barbequed pineapple.

"Are you _sure_ you don't want any?" Lucas said, as he tauntingly waved the stick of pineapple slices under Aidan's nose.

His metallic steel blue eyes darted to the rotisserie pineapple stand, and then back to the brown-eyed Trainer who was still holding the stick of fuming pineapple from below.

Now it was Aidan's turn to roll his eyes. "You've won me over," he said, and then went to purchase some roasted pineapples. Usually, Aidan was quite agreeable, but he had no appetite for pineapples that morning. Nevertheless, the way Lucas was talking about it started a craving.

Minutes later, the two boys were eating pineapples on the way to the ferry terminal, and Aidan had to admit – the pineapples were delicious.

Wooden bridges linked the many islands in the Lagoon Resort. Of course, the condos were positioned high enough above sea level so the tide could only cover much of the sandy beaches, but never enough to fill up the resort. As for the Lagoon Colosseum, the tide could barely cover all of it.

Anyway, Aidan and Lucas made their way to the terminal at last. After flashing their Battle Passes (Stream Green and Pokétopia Gold, respectively) to the Pokétopia Authority officer, they boarded one of the trademark ferries in the shape of Buizels.

* * *

On board, they sat beside each other watching the main island of Pokétopia gradually getting closer and closer in sight. Although they didn't show it, Aidan and Lucas were equally excited to watch the championship opener.

Nothing special happened on the way to Pokétopia.

At least until they were silently approached by a girl about their age (for those who care – she's 17 like Aidan). She wore a neutral, blunt, expression that told the two boys hardly the wiser. Let alone the pale brown and straight hair that fell to her shoulders.

"Anyone sitting here?" she asked shortly.

"…" Aidan didn't say anything at first. "No, not at all."

"Good," the girl sat down, looked out the window, and said nothing more.

Lucas looked at Aidan first, who flashed a smile, and looked back at the girl. Indeed, she continued to look at the ocean waters, and she radiated a cold aura, whereas Lucas radiated a friendly aura.

For this reason he took the approach.

"Well…" Lucas extended a hand to the girl, "my name's Lucas."

For once in her life, the girl actually smiled somehow. Even though it was a humourless smile.

"No need to shake hands," the girl said. "My name is Veronica. Veronica Holmquist."

_At least she responds_, Aidan thought.

"My name's Aidan," he then said.

There _really_ wasn't much to say.

"Are you going to watch the championship opener?" Lucas asked.

"Who are you kidding?" she said – slightly harshly. "I'm _in_ the opener! I'm part of the Contest Class, you know!"

In short, that was enough to explain what this was all about. There was nothing more to be said.

Instead, Aidan chose a different approach.

"You didn't have to talk to Lucas like that you know," he carefully said. "Mind if I ask where you are from, Veronica?"

"One," Veronica raised her first finger. "I could talk a lot more harshly if I wanted to. Two, I'm from Orre's Pyrite City – well, it used to be a town, but I guess times have changed. Now, may I ask where you two are from?"

Lucas seemed very glad that a friendly conversation was ongoing at last. "I'm from Cerulean City. You know, the seaside city in Kanto? If you ever wondered why I chose to reside at Lagoon Resort, it's because it kind of reminds me of home."

Veronica reserved some silence, and then said in a near monotone, "Fair enough. At least for you. Where I'm from, in Pyrite City, water is a luxury to go around. You're fortunate to be living in a place like that." Then she looked at Aidan. "Whereabouts are you from?"

Aidan slightly smiled. "New Bark Town."

"A village boy from a professor's town," Veronica remarked. "Go figure. That's classic. Let me guess: since you're from a quiet lovely town like yours, that's why you live at Lagoon Resort."

The ferry continued its voyage to the main island, and from the very far distance the sight of the Crystal Colosseum ferry terminal was miniscule but at least visible. Waves splashed over each other as the clouds passively disappeared to the horizon and allowed all of the Pokétopia resort to be bathed in the sunlight's brilliance.

"How did you do that?" Aidan quietly said.

Meanwhile, Lucas was nonetheless awestruck by Veronica's keen observation skills.

"How did you do _that_?" he stared, whilst repeating the question.

"Do what?" Veronica said.

"Figuring exactly the reason I went to live at Lagoon Resort!" Aidan added.

"I didn't," Veronica answered.

Now, as they continued their journey on the Buizel ferry and approached ever closer to the ferry terminal at Crystal Colosseum, Aidan and Lucas were left to deeply think about what Veronica meant. But Veronica could only merely smile. True, half of her didn't even know the true reason behind Aidan's stay. But as it happened, Veronica could think with logic and reason quite well – but only when she was under pressure. When she wasn't under pressure, she was harsh. Somehow, her other personality seemed to have dominated for this instant.

"Mind if I ask, Veronica," Lucas casually said. "If you're from Orre, how did you get here?"

Even Aidan rolled his eyes, but Veronica instead remarked, "You're a little slow on your history, Lucas. Everyone knows that Orre built a much-needed harbour for reasons of transportation and trade. Anyway, I got to Pokétopia from there – from Gateon Port."

"I see…" Aidan and Lucas said together.

* * *

Maria Lougheed walked off the PTR train on Main Street station and began to discreetly walk towards the Colosseum. If she had more time, she would have wanted to stop by her favourite café and order a nice Pecha Berry tea. But the Contest Class session won't wait.

Her cheeks were still drying off after the outburst of tears from the morning. Still, that didn't prevent Maria from changing into her trademark Pokétopia dress and pants. Yet, it proved difficult for her as the spicy aroma wafted around her house.

Leon was not far behind.

"I'll be waiting for you outside the colosseum," he said to his little cousin as they walked closer to the Main Street plaza.

Maria shook her head. Not because she didn't agree with Leon, but because of his appearance. "You really didn't have to wear a hat and sunglasses, you know. It kind of makes you look like my agent."

Indeed, Leon Pinetree wore a metallic white big-size style hat with a black trim on top – a style one would say was 'cool' – over his metallic blue hair. Apart from that, Leon also wore a navy blue blazer with a red tie, a Poké Ball metal badge, black dress pants, and neat shoes with a shine. What Maria didn't like was that Leon wore _sunglasses_.

"That's sort of the point," Leon said. "You know how the girls are."

Maria knew all too well. Besides bugging Leon about his social problems she also knew that when Leon caught a girl's eye, things were bound to get serious. Maria thought of being quiet, but the idea of bugging Leon again was irresistible.

"Say, what if you did run into a cute girl someday?" Maria teased. "There has to be one that's caught your eye. Tell me, Leon, what would she look like? Rather, what _does_ she look like?"

Leon's face went red, and then he dropped a fist on top of Maria's head. "Behave!"

Maria, like countless times before, smirked and rubbed the spot where it hurt a bit.

It was still a little earlier, but not as earlier as before. It was dark and empty before, but now lots of people were pouring onto the streets of Pokétopia. For the time being, the Main Street Colosseum plaza was open to all members of the public, but Pokétopia Authority was going to have to seal it off once the opener started.

"Alright, I've got to go," Maria said, as she handed her Sunset Colosseum Battle Pass to the security checkpoint. "Maybe I'll see you in the stands, Leon."

"I'll be watching the competition, Maria. That I promise."

Leon tipped his hat down with one hand, waved with the other, and then walked away.

Maria, on the other hand, walked in the opposite direction to the elevator leading up.

* * *

As Leon walked through the streets of Pokétopia, through his black-framed sunglasses he could _only_ notice any girl who eyed him. To Leon, it became something of a phobia toward overly excited girls who saw him (Maria didn't count, who was always happy to see him). So he was constantly on the alert.

At some point, he bumped past a group of girls younger than him by… three years, at best.

It was then he caught their attention.

Leon Pinetree, then, had to make a run for it, because those girls were giving a foot chase.

"Leon!"

"Leon! Over here!"

"It's Leon!"

"Leon PINETREE!"

* * *

Symphony Moore stepped onto her residing Pokétopia block just in time to see an 18-year old boy dressed somewhat formally in a navy blue blazer, black dress pants, red tie, and metallic white hat run past her. He was wearing sunglasses, and he was being chased by a group of girls almost exactly Symphony's age run after the boy.

"Leon!"

"LEON!"

Symphony shook her head, though she had no idea what was going on. What was important was that the Contest Class session was going to begin very shortly. Accompanied by Colette, her Minccino, she began to walk the short distance to the Main Street Colosseum plaza.

"Time to watch a good endurance battle, Colette!"

Colette was looking forward to it.

* * *

**Notice: I still need one more OC for Contest Class and the list will be full!**

**To those whose characters haven't been introduced yet, forgive me, as I'm trying to find time to keep writing.**


	6. From Lumiose Press! The Cape

**That _one_ spot in the Contest Class is still empty! But I'm uploading another chapter just to keep your toes on edge.**

* * *

_**Chapter six: From Lumiose Press! The Cape**_

The phone call came just an hour before the opener at Main Street.

"_Congratulations, Mr. Capewell_," the voice on the line said to the 15-year old. "_We're very pleased to tell you that Pokétopia Authority has granted you news and press privileges for the running of the Pokétopia Endurance Championship. Until the end of the season, you're free to write and publish articles within Pokétopia, as well as distributing them to your home region in Kalos._"

"Awesome," Joshua Capewell's reaction was nothing surprsing. "So when do I start?"

"_You'll have to pick up your license too, sir_," the Pokétopia rep said. "_When you can, come to the head office to pick it up. You may also publish your works._"

"Hear, hear," Joshua joked. "Okay, thank you for your offer. I'll see if I can make use of it."

The 'Cape', as Lumiose Press nicknamed him. Lumiose Press was often revered by the citizens of Kalos as the greatest newspapers around. However, whenever an article was published by the Cape, people would either pay close attention to the article or skip away from it. In some respects, Joshua always documented and wrote outrageous articles, which led to his reputation to be either loved or hated.

Somehow, Joshua had a suspicion that Lumiose Press persuaded Pokétopia Authority to let him in. After all, Kalos was an influential nation. How could Pokétopia Authority refuse?

On a desk in his Pokétopia suite laid a horrific scene of disorganised papers, and crumpled notes on the floor. Indeed, if it wasn't for his audio recorder, or even his visual camera, it would have been a lot messier.

Hence he was called the Cape. Never mind his name.

Looking at the clock on the wall, Joshua knew he didn't have a lot of time before the opener at Main Street Colosseum. Sure, he resided in a suite in the metropolis, but still!

Anyway, to business, he had been assigned by Lumiose Press to begin coverage of the Pokétopia Endurance Championship. However, the journalism possibilities of writing on Colosseum Leaders and Masters were just too good an opportunity to miss. After all, the Leaders and Masters here in Pokétopia were like mini-celebrities. Honestly! Joshua had to find an opportunity to interview them, and maybe join them for an unscheduled lunch break.

And Maria Lougheed! Initially, Joshua had wanted to find a way to interview her. Maria was a double Pokétopia champion! But… as he had read on her file from the computer, he found out that Maria was only 12.

In the past, Joshua had good experience tracking down celebrities as a journalist and writing about them. But those very celebrities were – well – celebrities who were used to fame and paparazzi surrounding them, and they were mainly adults. Maria, on the other hand, was just a 12-year old child. Besides, in the same file Joshua read, she had a tendency to be on the quiet side as much as possible, which would account for the lack of public attention of her. As it happened, he heard from sources that those super-nosy reporters and journalists who _tried_ to track Maria Lougheed were threatened with such ferocity from Pokétopia Authority that they decided there were safer and less dangerous stories to cover.

But Joshua guessed a couple sneaky photos of Maria Lougheed wouldn't hurt. It was all in the name of the Endurance Championship coverage. That and photos of the other competitors.

"I'm on my way," he said to himself.

He held an accolade – a Kalos region champion. Between battles and reporting for Lumiose Press, he couldn't get enough of both.

Currently, Joshua needed to focus on today! The simple fedora he wore complimented his light brown hair and 'reporter' look (no one knows if he wore it by choice or if Lumiose Press ordered him to do it). As a reminder to himself, he brought his jacket with him (leaving it unzipped) over his sweater. Cargo pants and sneakers completed his appearance.

A visual/audio camera, audio recorder, and notepad were small accessories for him. As he packed the contents, he almost forgot his glasses – though they were glasses with degrees. Although Joshua had no eyesight problems, they at least made him look nice.

With his dress-up complete, Joshua picked up his Poké Balls and his Stream Pink Battle Pass and left the suite to head for the lobby via elevator.

* * *

At the ground level, near the Turtwig tower, Joshua kept his eyes sharp for anyone who looked remotely like an Endurance Championship entrant. If he had the chance to take photos, he would take full advantage of it.

Like now.

He noticed a young woman walking alongside past the Pokétopia Archive Library. Having done his private research on every entrant in the Endurance Championship, Joshua could identify each one in an instant. He had no doubt that the woman walking on the street was Rhianne Barestein. 'Anne' as she could also be called.

Rhianne was wearing a long, indigo jacket (with lots of pockets) over a white blouse, with black jeans in a floral pattern to match. All this apparel she wore over a pair of white sneakers. Wavy black hair tied in an intricate-braid and face-frame style completed her look. The other giveaway, in Joshua's case, was her carrying a mature purple satchel and earphones. This matched the description Joshua had been reading in the profiles.

_Now's the chance!_ Joshua thought.

To make the effect more 'flashy', he tipped his fedora down and replaced his 'reporter' glasses with a pair of sunglasses. After that, Joshua took out his notepad and camera and began to follow the Endurance Championship participant.

He walked closer to Rhianne and began to draw out his camera.

"And what do you think _you're_ doing?!" a voice shouted.

Alerted, Joshua turned his attention to the voice behind him. Behind, he saw a couple shouting at each other in front of one of Pokétopia's retail shops. Knowing that the voice wasn't directed at him, Joshua immediately relaxed.

Not for long.

"And what do you think _you're_ doing?" a soft voice said behind Joshua's head.

The voice was directed at him.

Joshua turned back and realised he was staring at Rhianne Barestein face-to-face.

"Nothing," he quickly answered.

"Then what's with the camera?" Rhianne said. In spite of how she said it, it wasn't a question.

Joshua, as discreetly as he could, risked a glance at his hands. He knew he didn't have his camera out by the time Anne asked him this, so how could she have known?

"I don't have a camera," he said.

Rhianne's light brown eyes stared into Joshua's black ones. Despite that Rhianne was eight years older than Joshua (Anne's 23 to Joshua's 15), they seemed to be of equal level. But eventually, Rhianne gave in, as Joshua only showed a fixed grin that stayed like that for a minute solid, and rendered the atmosphere uncomfortable.

"Don't. Lie. Where is it?"

The atmosphere was cut in two. It was thick enough already, and Rhianne just cut it like tearing a fresh leaf in pieces.

"Hey, hey, what's going on here?" a third, softer, voice broke in.

Joshua's focus and Anne's were diverted to their right.

A 17-year old stood before them eating a rice wrap. Tension still filled the atmosphere, but it seemed to have settled down a little. Perhaps it was the food this guy was eating. Maybe it was the awkward silence that took over after. Or, maybe, it was the different clothes this stranger wore – a classic pattern of green and black. Green T-shirt under a hooded jacket, black cargo pants, a pair of black converses, a yin yang necklace, and green headphones around his neck.

Never mind his green eyes and black hair, which complimented his clothes.

Joshua could notice the similarity that Anne wore headphones around her neck too.

"Nothing," Rhianne said.

"Nothing?! You looked like you were about to give him a yelling or something," the stranger laughed. "Anyway, what's going on?"

Joshua looked at Anne, and then at the stranger.

"You're Stephen, aren't you?" the so-called undercover Lumiose reporter asked him.

"Yes, I – hey! How did you know that?" Stephen added quickly. It occurred to him that he had never met this teenager before, and he suspected that no one knew each other here, come to that. "Also, who are you?"

Anne stared at Joshua, and repeated the same question, "Just exactly who are you, and how do you know about us? The championship opener hasn't started yet, and yet you're here like you know us already."

Joshua tipped his fedora down, and pushed his glasses up. "That's classified information."

"Don't you talk to me about 'classified'!" Anne shouted.

"Slow down, miss," Stephen raised a hand, as if asking for her silence.

Finally amused, as if he hadn't had enough already, Joshua showed his press card (but not his Battle Pass). "I'm Joshua Capewell. Lumiose Press reporter. Keep quiet about this, and I'll make sure that you won't look bad on the front page."

Anne hesitated a moment before showing her Diamond Dust Battle Pass – a deep dark blue with a glimmering shine – both Joshua and Stephen. "Rhianne Barestein."

"Stephen Barca," Stephen showed his (predictably!) Stream Green Battle Pass, shook hands with Anne first, and then Joshua.

"Okay, give it up, Joshua. You've got a camera with you," Anne smiled.

"I see it too," Stephen added.

The Lumiose reporter's eyes became very round, and then he stared at his pockets. "Argh! Where's my camera?!"

Anne bent down to pick up the camera dangling on _Joshua's_ foot.

"Mind if I ask what kinds of photos are you going to take?" Stephen asked as Anne got up to give back the camera. Joshua laughed and shook his head.

"I'll clue you in," he couldn't help but show an enthusiastic grin. "I'm trying to make a report on how many girlfriends Leon Pinetree has. Have you ever heard of Maria Lougheed? Leon is her cousin. Between you and me, he has a lot of girls chasing him."

Stephen raised his eyebrows. "Does Lumiose Press allow you to do that? I know it's a respected paper and all, but come on. That's more of a journalist's job, don't you think? You're a reporter! So what does that make you? A journalist?"

"Part-time," Joshua flatly said. "Part-time journalist."

"And why Leon Pinetree, of all people?" Anne added.

Joshua saw this as an opportunity to change the topic into something almost off-topic. In fact, it was identical to complete manipulation.

"Do you think of Leon Pinetree a lot, Anne?" he innocently asked.

"No," Anne's response was automatic.

"He's only five years younger than you, but hey, he's not that bad-looking either," Joshua went on. "If you ever considered it… what if you were to –"

"Shut it," Anne cut in, and then quickly looked away.

"Girls go wild for him!" the Lumiose reporter grinned. "Would you happen to be one of them? Don't worry. You're not the only one to have been asked this. Lots of girls have the same reaction. He's a cool guy, that's for sure."

Anne glared at him. "How could you know this?!"

Joshua gave the poker face.

It had occurred to Stephen that the three of them had been standing and talking the entire time. It didn't surprise him either that people who passed by stared at them as they walked.

Anne showed a look of resignation that sent Stephen the message, _I give up_.

"Let's go to a café. I'm buying," Stephen offered, whilst changing the subject.

"I don't have time. Maybe you could buy me something on another day," Joshua declined. He tipped his fedora down once more and walked away.

Anne shrugged. "I guess I'll take up on your offer."

They walked away, and leaving Joshua behind.

After the commotion was over, and that Anne and Stephen were far away, Joshua sat on a Main Street bench and burst into a series of laughs. He _could_ believe it. Even though his camera was spotted, he, the Cape, had been recording Anne's reactions the entire time by _audio_. Imagine what he could do with other trainers in the same way! He would have a lot to write about when he got back into his suite/office. He had the bonus of having a good camera with him to take pictures too.

But, Joshua had to be honest, that meeting with Anne and Stephen was genuine to say the least. Still, at least he had plenty of things to write about.

_Okay, time for the championship opener!_ Joshua thought.

Main Street Colosseum wasn't far off, either.

Joshua continued his walk toward the colosseum, and he could notice that dozens of other Trainers were walking in the same direction to the same colosseum. In the streets, people were pouring out of shops and parks to begin to walk to the same common destination. PTR trains were also simultaneously arriving at the stations in Main Street with many more people arriving.

* * *

Rhianne Barestein and Stephen Barca, on the other hand, quietly walked into a less busy café and casually ordered coffees. Though they never said it, they figured it was best to settle down after an argument with Joshua Capewell over a quiet coffee session.

It was a silent stay, as there was nothing to do but wait for the championship opener to start.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to see your Pokémon team," Stephen asked.

Anne shrugged, and slipped her Diamond Dust Battle Pass across the table for Stephen to see. The latter slipped his Stream Green Battle Pass (white and light green) in exchange.

"An all-Hoenn team," Anne remarked. "You're from Hoenn?"

Stephen smiled. "Lavaridge, in fact. You know there's a town near the base of a volcano called Mount Chimney? It hopes to export Lava Cookies around the globe, in my opinion. Anyway, I've built my team in the areas surrounding my hometown – with the exception of my Walrein, of course. Speaking of which, where did your Pokémon come from?"

He was met with a blanked out expression from Rhianne, but it soon disappeared.

"It's a long story," Rhianne answered at last.

"Well, we're having coffee, aren't we?" Stephen pointed out. "I've got time for a story."

She took a deep breath, considering if it was worth telling her story, but Rhianne decided against it at the last moment. It would be embarrassing to tell her personal story to someone, and particularly if that 'someone' was someone who she had known for just under an hour.

"Nothing," she said. "I could tell you some other time."

"Fair enough," Stephen downed his coffee and put the cup back on the table. Afterwards, they exchanged their Battle Passes to their rightful owners and waited until the championship opener was ready. Anne, though, decided to leave early. It suited Stephen just fine.

"See you there," she waved.

* * *

As for business with Lumiose Press Joshua was still committed to write up a report for the paper. Although he still needed to pick up his licence from Pokétopia Authority, he figured a few extra photos of the street and taking legitimate newspaper notes wouldn't hurt.

_At least I'm doing my job,_ he thought.

For once in his life, or at least the very few times, Joshua settled down.

He took pictures of the streets, of people, and of Pokétopia in general. Holding the camera up to his eyes, he took pictures at 24 frames per second.

He saw trees, he saw people, he saw Pokémon, and he saw… RHIANNE?! Anne was glaring at him. Even through the camera, Joshua could tell her eyes were trying to pierce through his. It wasn't the best feeling. On the contrary, it was wrenching.

_Time to go mobile_, Joshua thought, and he made his move away.

Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough.

"Hold it right there!" Anne shouted at him, and caused the public to stare at them.

She made furious moves toward Joshua, and people stepped out of her way just so they wouldn't be affected by her rampage.

"Don't you think it's funny you're telling everyone about my broken relationship with my boyfriend?!" she hollered. "Go ahead, say as much of it as you like! You've got the photos to prove it, so why not just let everyone know you're working undercover for Lumi-"

But her mouth was covered by Joshua's hand, who said, "That's classified!"

"Who do you think you are, attacking her like that!" someone, a teenager, shouted.

"Leave her alone!" a little girl shouted.

"And give back her camera!"

"But that camera's mine!" Joshua protested.

Anne took advantage of Joshua's distracted mind and seized the reporter's camera from his hands. Immediately, she tore off away from him and ran away.

"Hey! Not cool, yo!" Joshua shouted.

He was about to give chase, but at least three people got in his way to stop him from going further. Because of this block, he could faintly see the intricate side braid of Rhianne's black hair disappear into the sea of faces. Joshua tried pushing through the crowd, but the crowd wouldn't let him.

"You've done enough damage to a poor woman's life already, man," one of the people holding Joshua back said. "Save it for another day."

"Or don't do it at all!" another person said.

Crushed by the pressure of the public, and wanting to get out of the embarrassing moment before even more people stopped to see the commotion, Joshua retreated and tipped his fedora down. Furthermore, he put on a pair of sunglasses and would not be taking them off for the next half hour.

* * *

At the Pokétopia head office, where Pokétopia Authority was headquartered, Joshua finally retrieved his press licence which entitled him to write articles about the Pokétopia Endurance Championship. His Battle Pass was updated to show he had status as a news reporter.

Yet when Joshua left the building, and even before he had arrived there, he was already facing a huge problem. He had notebook, pen, and reporter essentials for sure. Still…

_How am I going to write a good news article without a camera?!_ Joshua thought. _And worst of all, I had to get it robbed right before the championship opener. Rhianne Barestein… argh! You're going to regret this. I'll make sure of it._

* * *

The woman who had been so much in Joshua's vengeful mind had rejoined Stephen at the café. Upon explaining what had exactly happened, Stephen's reaction was a dropped jaw.

"You might want to give that back, Rhianne," Stephen recommended. "There's no telling what he might do to you with all his press power."

"Forget it. He brought this upon himself, and he can't use his press power because he's undercover, anyway," Anne grinned triumphantly. "Besides, I can start a scandal with the photos he's got in here."

Stephen shook his head, and tried to persuade Anne to give up on her vendetta.

"Okay, I admit that Joshua could be pushing things, but it's ridiculous how you could bring upon a scandal onto him. He's from Lumiose Press! Think about his career! His work!" he said.

Anne brushed him off. "Like I care. He's got a price to pay."

Stephen would have to find a way to stop this vendetta before it escalated, and they had only known Joshua Capewell for less than ten minutes. Besides, they were only talking about Leon Pinetree. Perhaps Anne was overreacting.

And in Stephen's eyes, indeed she was.

_We're going to have to give back Joshua's camera eventually_, Stephen thought.

"The camera can wait, Anne. Why don't we watch the championship opener?" he suggested.

It was as if Stephen used the same tone suggesting going to the café. Anne gave up on her vendetta, but only briefly, and pocketed the camera.

"That sounds like a plan," she said.

* * *

On another street, Connor DuPont and Eva Hawkelizer walked to the checkpoint in which all participating members in the event must pass before entering the colosseum itself. Colin Coakley was not far behind them, and the 11-year old waved to his friends before going through a separate series of stairs and escalators to the Main Street balconies.

Because Connor and Eva were both participants in the Contest Class championship, they had to get there earlier than most people would. Colin, on the other hand, would be off trying to find a good standing spot in the balconies.

How long would it be before the championship opener started?

* * *

**Submit your OC - the last on the list - by PM please! Priority will be given to the one who hasn't submitted an OC before.**


	7. Opening Matches

**Writing this Endurance Championship is difficult _in__ every single way_. I don't know if I can actually complete it...**

**At long last, I've finally got a chapter going. I express my thanks to Ben...Kirk...NewZealand, SD Productions, Snowsheba, and reven228. I think 16 OCs might have pushed it too far... I should have gone with 10. No matter.**

**And I actually have the last OC!**

**Also, please note that I didn't upload for a while mostly because of a time conflict in the story. I've just overhauled chapter 1 and I think it will be much easier to write the story now. Plus, I'm still in the process of trying to introduce OCs.**

* * *

_**Chapter seven: Opening Matches**_

Maria Lougheed, with Gardevoir by her side, sat behind one of the three seats present on Main Street Colosseum. The organizers, that is, the specific committee established by Pokétopia Authority for organizing the Endurance Championship, had provided a table for the judges near the colosseum's edge. It was a steel-framed table complete with rolling chairs, scoring monitors, replay screens, and electrical systems (connected to the metropolis' power supply).

Maria looked up and around her. The gigantic Pachirisu and Bidoof balloons were neatly placed on the plaza floor, and fans were screaming from the balconies.

"It's time," a voice said from behind the brown-haired 12-year old.

She arched her head back to see (in Maria's eyes) an upside-down Rosie. Of course, Rosie was dressed in her trademark costume – clothes with a Roserade theme. The green masquerade, the matching green gloves with a red bouquet on one and a blue bouquet on the other, the green tank top, the green pants, the white hair gelled so intense that it strongly resembled a Roserade's head, and – most importantly – the green high heels!

"Do you always have to be this flashy?" Maria asked with wide eyes. "Wow. As if the Roserade fashion wasn't enough. Now, you have to add heels to it."

Rosie shook her head, and scoffed. "Don't you remember those times during the Pokétopia Championship seasons? I've always worn these clothes! They're trademark, and everyone loves them. You've battled me before with the Fortune Wheel, remember? I'm still wearing these."

The clacking of heels against the floor got louder as Rosie approached the judges' table. Aside from being a judge for Contest Class, Rosie was originally the Neon Colosseum Leader to begin with. The roaring of fans got louder when Rosie took her seat.

"We have to activate the scoring system, of course," Rosie said. "You remember how to do it during our first meeting yesterday. Of course, the session won't start until Taylor gets here."

Maria stayed silent but turned on her respective computer. All the monitors flickered to life with the same opening sequence in light blue and midnight blue titled 'Pokétopia'. The main monitor was the base computer which included score screens, and the other monitors showed areas of the Colosseum from all angles possible, including a camera shot from a building roof! In addition, the monitor screens showing the Colosseum from all angles could be broadcasted live and, if Maria wished, at replay speeds.

She was given a mouse and a very, very, flat keyboard. The keys were fitted so flush to the keyboard itself that they were mere imprints on the keyboard and not keys. In fact, slightly touching them would be enough to type in something. At least the mouse had a decent regular-sized shape, and it was wireless.

_Monitors and scoring evaluations…_ Maria thought.

From the meeting from yesterday, in short, Maria was supposed to keep track of Pokémon movements in the contest and – specifically – evaluate each Trainer's use of coordination. Due to the length of battle to expect, it was going to be excessively tiresome.

"Argh…" Maria groaned out of pure frustration, and put her head on the table. The anticipation of judging an endurance competition seemed to take its toll on her already. "This is crazy…"

Gardevoir put a hand on Maria's shoulder and gently pat it.

* * *

Underneath Main Street Colosseum, the Pokétopia Endurance Championship participants of this session were each busy deciding the Pokémon they would start out with in the session. Four of the eight participants had to make up their mind quickly, but they would manage.

Leon Pinetree could hear the roaring and cheering of crowds, even if he was underneath the colosseum and surrounded by walls.

* * *

Taylor, the Main Street Colosseum Leader dressed in her trademark Pachirisu costume (including face paint, a headband with pointy ears strong resembling a Pachirisu's, and even a white-and-blue tail!) paced back and forth to see the last judge, Joe, take his seat.

"All good to go?" Joe asked her.

"I only need to fit the mikes. _My_ mike," she answered. "Just make sure you've got all your data and monitors ready. Otherwise, this championship opener will be a no-show."

Pinning a little microphone at the top of her dress, Taylor didn't speak yet. The people and spectators hadn't completely filled up or the stands yet, nor did the clock hit the right time for the opener to start. However, the time was coming very, very, soon. In fact, it was almost close to now.

"Have the participants arrived yet?" Rosie asked.

"Uh… most of them have," Maria said in a small voice.

"That's not good," Rosie shook her head. "We're going to have to go ahead with the event, anyway. There's no way around it. Taylor's going to start her opening speech like right now."

Since there were a few minutes to spare, Maria pulled up a file on the computer that showed the official Pokétopia Endurance Championship entry list.

**Pokétopia Endurance Championship Official Entry List**

**Battle Class**

**Stephen Barca**

**Rhianne 'Anne' Barrestein**

**Joshua Capewell**

**Colin Coakley**

**Maria Lougheed**

**Symphony Moore**

**Aidan Quinn**

**Lucas Vermont**

**Contest Class**

**Kailoni Deforest**

**Connor DuPont**

**Evangelina 'Eva' Hawkelizer**

**Veronica Holmquist**

**Penelope Lopez**

**Leon Pinetree**

**Giselle 'Gigi' Reene**

**Honey 'Celestia' Starr**

The other list showed basic rules.

**Pokétopia Endurance Championship Contest Class rules:**

**The ruling by the International Contest Federation and Pokémon Activities Committee stipulates the Endurance Championship is to use the same contest judging format not unlike a regular contest, as established by the International Contest Federation, though with minor modifications by Pokétopia Authority.**

**1****st**** Stage: Contestants are to face off against each other on a one-on-one style match. While they are not to engage in combat, this stage will be judged by individual Pokémon showcasing their talents. Only the Talent judge and the Coordination judge will be allowed to evaluate for points. The Endurance judge is to continue evaluating until the conclusion of the 2nd Stage.**

**2****nd**** Stage: Contestants will battle against each other in a regular Doubles match format, although much of the battles will be dependent on the Pokémon's style of battling, which includes appeals and combinations. All judges, by definition means Talent, Coordination, and Endurance, will evaluate each ongoing match. The defeated contestant will not be eliminated, but will continue battling other contestants in the hopes of attaining more points from the judges. Note that final Talent and Coordination scores are blended in 1****st**** and 2****nd**** stages.**

****Interim scores are presented after the 1st Stage.****

**As per endurance guidelines, no restorative breaks are allowed during any given contest session, with the exception of a five-minute break after passing the half hour point.**

****Final scores (ie. after 2nd Stage) are presented at the closing of the colosseum. After a Contest Class session and Battle Class session has been held once on the two days of opening, the judges will present the final scores and announce the overall winner at the podium ceremony. After the Colosseum Leader/Master has closed the colosseum, Contest Class championship points will be awarded accordingly.****

She would be distracted almost immediately.

"_Good afternoon, girls and gentlemen alike, and welcome to the opening round of the Pokétopia Endurance Championship!_" Taylor shouted. Her voice rang out across the Main Street plaza like exploding fireworks, where people across the resort either watched this in the plaza or by live broadcast. "_Day one of the Pokétopia Endurance Championship and it's my pleasure to present you with the Contest Class session. Please, sit back, or stand back, and enjoy the enduring performances of our tireless contestants!_"

Cheering from all around rebounded off the walls and windows of Pokétopia.

"_In the interests of saving time for this session, let's begin with two independent grudge matches happening side by side! Single battles! One-on-one, with entire teams fighting for time!_" Taylor shouted. "_In the front stage of Main Street Colosseum, I give you… Eva Hawkelizer, from Sinnoh's Twinleaf Town! And from Sinnoh's Hearthome City , I give you… Gigi Reene!"_

Gigi Reene, a lovely 14-year old, showed up on stage first wearing a simple gray V-neck with black shorts and tan boots. Given she sported long, brown, waist-length hair it was no wonder she caught the eyes of several males in the plaza. Emerald green eyes complemented her hair and clothes as well.

_This better be good,_ Gigi thought.

* * *

"Yeah! Eva!" Colin Coakley shouted from the balconies, and added another thought, _Hope you do well too, Connor!_

* * *

"_Secondly,_" Taylor continued. "_Please welcome our second matchup: Veronica Holmquist, from Orre's Pyrite City, and Leon Pinetree, from the City of Larousse!_"

_WHAT,_ Maria thought. _He's so early!_

The four Coordinators appeared on the Colosseum.

"_And please, give a round of fantastic applause for our judges!_" Taylor directed her hand to the judges table with computers. "_The first judge is our Contest chief and the Neon Colosseum Leader, evaluating the Talent category, Rosie! The second judge, evaluating the Coordination category, is none other than Gateway Colosseum Master Joe, who you heard from the opening ceremony!_"

A series of loud cheers, predominantly feminine, filled the plaza.

"_And lastly, it is my pleasure to introduce our third judge evaluating the Endurance category, and our special guest. She's a modest veteran of Pokétopia and you've all probably heard of her_," Taylor said. "_From the City of LaRousse, in Hoenn: Maria Lougheed_!"

Lots of cheers and applause welcomed the judges.

"_These three judges will evaluate Contest scores throughout the running of the championship,_" Taylor explained. "_Without further ado, let's begin the Pokétopia Endurance Championship!_"

Gigi Reene was the first of the four to wave at everyone, and then she pulled out a Poké Ball from behind and threw it forward.

"Go! Goddess!" she cried.

Cheers erupted as the first Pokémon of the Pokétopia Endurance Championship was sent onto the battleground: a Gardevoir, whom Giselle named Goddess. The Gardevoir waved an arm in the air.

Maria's Gardevoir was spoken for.

"I know, I know," Maria rolled her eyes. "She might be called 'goddess' but I'm sure you're the prettier between you and that Gardevoir."

Gardevoir put her hands on her own hips but continued to watch the match.

On the adjacent side beside Gigi, Leon pulled out a Poké Ball from his pocket and threw it in front of him.

"Octillery! Let's get down to business!" he shouted. "Show them what you've got!"

The familiar sound of a bursting Poké Ball filled the air of the Colosseum, and out came Leon's flagship Pokémon: Octillery.

Without need for command, Octillery aimed upward and fired rounds of Bullet Seed. As the projectiles began to fall back down Octillery shot a round of Aurora Beam – aurora and rainbow-colour shining upward – and froze the falling seeds. Due to the ice increasing the mass of the seeds, they began to fall at a faster rate.

"Now," Leon muttered.

A very fast shot of Octazooka blasted upward and made contact with the multiple frozen projectiles and _exploded_ in a black cloud of ink. But before the black ink could spread, Octillery jumped up and into the black cloud of ink whilst blasting another Aurora Beam inside the black cloud. Gasps could be heard from the audience. It looked like Octillery disappeared!

The unmistakable sound of molecules and components packing together screeched throughout the plaza, and at the same the ink began to fade out and disappear into the air. Because of the massive commotion, no one dared to disturb Leon's act, even if Gigi wanted to act. Everyone's attention was on Leon for the moment.

Silence in the suspenseful manner could appropriately describe the mood of the colosseum.

Afterwards, when the black cloud cleared, everyone's eyes clearly showed expressions of awe.

"Awe… Awesome," Joe felt his mouth drop.

_Well done, Octillery. Great job_, Leon thought.

A monstrous black structure, with the radiant colours of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet refracting off its black surface, stood before everyone who was watching this session of the Endurance Championship. The ink, as part of the Octazooka, was still present and slightly moving inside its prison of ice. In short, this was a huge crystalized form of Octazooka, and it left everyone speechless. Octillery could be seen proudly at the top.

Slowly, the crowds began to applaud. For Leon, he could hear the crescendo of increasing hands applauding his performance. Modestly, he tipped his hat down and waved to everyone.

"_Well done, Leon Pinetree!_" Taylor shouted. "_And now… please welcome Gigi Reene!_"

"Goddess!" Gigi cried. "Magical Leaf!"

_Aerial moves seem to be of choice today…_ Maria thought, as she watched the scene unfold before her. _That Gardevoir's just gone into the air!_

Gigi's Gardevoir leapt quickly into the air, astonishingly quickly, while generating a series of shining leaves to be fired into the air. The leaves shot like miniature rockets, as they were shot upward at incredible speeds.

"Now you've got it," Gigi shouted. "Teleport!"

Goddess disappeared for just the briefest instant but reappeared high in the air in admirable fashion. Admirable, Maria thought, but very much mistaken.

The third judge, Maria, thought badly wrong.

Gigi's Gardevoir reappeared in midair, just in the middle of the Magical Leaf line of fire, but no leaf would touch Goddess at all. Rather, they passed by the Pokémon flawlessly. As the leaves slowed down and started to make their journey downward, Goddess let out a blast of the move Psychic – the leaves froze, and then blasted out in all directions. From the ground and above, it looked like Goddess was dancing with the leaves, and it was a formidable combination.

This was the sound of a hurricane, with leaves creating a virtual blaze of wind in every square metre or square yard in Main Street Colosseum.

"Oohs and ahhs" echoed throughout the spectators.

_Plenty of credit for this girl_, Joe thought, _but Leon's done a spectacular job too. Let's see… how the others will fare up._

The leaves were under Goddess' complete control. They continued shooting in all directions as the Gardevoir made a not-so-free fall back to the ground. A controlled landing was in place, with the Gardevoir making her gentle descent to the ground. At the same time, the leaves began to shoot downward and propel in every corner of the plaza. In a brief instant, it was a magical moment.

Goddess touched down on both feet, let the leaves drop onto the colosseum floor, and concluded with an appropriate bow.

Maria's Gardevoir was the first to clap. The judges followed the applause, and very soon the whole plaza was roaring with cheers and applause. For Gigi, she made a fist and beamed at everyone around her. It wasn't a bad feeling.

The judges began making neat notes with paper and pen. True, they could have typed it out on the computers they had in front of them, but given how much work had to be done on it – including reviews and replays – it was much faster to do it in writing.

"_And that does it for Leon Pinetree and Giselle 'Gigi' Reene!_" Taylor shouted. "_Now it's time for the other group to make their moves!_"

Rosie, Maria, and Joe hastily made notes on their notepapers. The session was going at a moderate pace, but the amount of details they had to make was overwhelming. Sometimes, they questioned if they had enough time to write, especially Maria, who had little experience with note-taking.

Leon and Gigi waved to the crowds while taking in the ovation. After the sound of applause died down, everyone looked to see the performances of the other two.

Eva Hawkelizer tossed out a Poké Ball from his black bag at let it _pop_ in the air.

"Lulu! Let's go!"

A female Lucario landed on the colosseum ground. If anyone thought that watching performances over and over again here was boring, it shouldn't be. Lulu, the feminine Lucario, let out a screeching sound that was enough to wake everyone up.

* * *

Everyone except for two individuals in the plaza stands: Stephen Barca, who standing on one of the balconies, and Rhianne 'Anne' Barrestein. Stephen partially wore his green headphones in an effort to listen more closely to the broadcast, whereas Anne felt the need for a bit of music _at the right moment!_

Joshua Capewell, undercover Lumiose Press photographer, stood beside Stephen and Anne at this moment, and upon hearing the sound he felt his fedora fall off his head and touch the ground.

"This – is – awesome!" he shouted.

And yet, how did it inspire _awe_? Leon's Octillery made a huge black ice sculpture that stretched to the skies. Now that was something that inspired awe. THAT was awesome. How did the sound inspire awe? Not at all. It was just a sound!

Anne would never figure it out.

"If _only_ I had my camera!" Joshua whined loudly in Stephen and Anne's ears. "The paper would have loved this! The championship opener! And I'm missing it!"

If Anne had any sympathy towards Joshua, it would have disappeared right away. Besides, the camera she had secretly confiscated from Joshua was safely in her Pokétopia suite. If she was going to continue her vendetta, so be it. Stephen felt helpless at this.

* * *

Meanwhile, Eva had an idea.

"Lulu! Climb the sculpture!" he shouted. "Aura Sphere!"

Before Leon could yell out a scream of horror, the Octazooka particles contained inside the black monument exploded out and let out a black haze. Meanwhile, the sound of a crumbling ice monument was evident to those who heard and saw what was happening. Even people who were watching the broadcast live didn't need to guess what had happened.

"MY…" Leon's eyes went blank. "MY WORK…"

And then the 'cool' trainer fainted and crumpled to the ground. ("I WANT my camera!" Joshua Capewell pleaded, staring above as if his camera would fall out of the sky.)

"_Leon Pinetree has fainted!_" Taylor's voice was in a mix of hysteria and worry. "_The destruction of his prized work of art was too much for him! He can't bear it! Someone go and wake him up!_"

A Pokétopia Authority official, accessing from the elevator below, appeared at the side of the colosseum and ran over to Leon with a medical kit and – much to everyone's astonishment – a stretcher. So, in short, it was a laugh for the majority of guys in the audience. Most of the girls, with the major exception of Maria Lougheed, screamed in fear.

"Haha!" Eva laughed rolled his eyes. "Lulu! Heal Pulse!"

From high above, and balancing on a crumbing structure, the Lucario put her hands close together and began to emit a pinkish-yellow pulse of energy. After a moment, she targeted Leon and fired away from higher ground.

"_Eva's Lucario has just used a Heal Pulse to attempt waking up Leon_," Taylor explained. "_While we wait, let's see Eva's 'Lulu' complete the Contest Class session!_"

"Where were we, Lulu?" Eva called out. "Stay in the cloud! Extremespeed and Metal Sound!"

A gust of wind could be felt briefly – a fraction of a second – by every attended person. However, in the next fraction of a second, a metallic sound erupted from within the black cloud of ink. Because Lulu was still inside the cloud, the sound was muted and muffled, but it gradually grew louder and louder until… the ink particles cracked and splattered on the ground.

Lulu landed perfectly dead centre.

"WHOO!" were one of the many cheers who supported Eva. Eva smiled, his spiky platinum blond hair reflected off the morning sunlight as he waved.

"_That leaves Veronica Holmquist!_" Taylor announced. "_Show us what you've got, Veronica!_"

_With pleasure_, the Coordinator thought. To the surprise of others, Veronica was the only one so far who actually bothered to dress up for the round, which kind of accounted for the appeal she was getting from the spectators.

In Pyrite City, where the colosseum was _still_ rundown (save for the ONBS building) and was host to some of the roughest Trainers known to man, it was no wonder Veronica would seize the opportunity whenever she got it. With one swift motion, she threw one of her Poké Balls out.

"Reon," she whispered. "Rain Dance."

In the very moment where Veronica's Vaporeon blasted out of its Poké Ball the 'Bubble Jet' Pokémon opened his mouth and shot a ball of blue energy into the sky. For the next few minutes, rain began to fall onto the colosseum.

* * *

"I should have brought an umbrella!" Lucas Vermont, standing on one of the balconies, wiped his teal hair with his blue sleeve, and could feel the excess water plummeting down beside his white sneakers.

Aidan Quinn, who was standing beside him and wearing his backwards-facing cap, wasn't so.

"I hope Veronica knows what she's doing," Aidan said. "And Leon! He definitely got a shock of his life! I can't believe he's still knocked out…"

Veronica appeared to be in deep thought, but later had come up with her moves.

"Water Pulse," she said.

With the additional power supplied by the rain, the Vaporeon's Water Pulse seemed to either appear to be larger-than-life or very intense, because there was an uncomfortable radiance of power contained within the water.

It was going very fast, too!

"Jump, and Ice Beam on the way," Veronica, the light-brown-eyed Coordinator, quietly said.

The Vaporeon gathered some momentum and began to chase the Water Pulse with speed. The Water Pulse was still travelling forward, but Reon caught up to it. In the moment she jumped, she was building up an Ice Beam in his mouth.

_Okay…_ Veronica thought.

Reon jumped forward and high into the air and blasted the Ice Beam away. As he did this, he _leapt through_ the Water Pulse and froze it on the way. Before Reon jumped through the pulse, it was just a ring of water. Now, it was an eroded ring of solid ice.

It fell to the ground and shattered brilliantly.

"NICE!" Rosie shouted.

Reon landed and, in small part to an Ice Beam, skated to Veronica's side. Applause and cheers, and a bit of chanting, could be heard from the audience. Lots of people were satisfied, and Veronica reluctantly waved back.

Meanwhile, the three judges were making handwritten notes and began to organise scores.

"_So there you have it, people,_" Taylor shouted. "_That's half of the 1__st__ Stage of this Contest Class session, and it is now intermission. But please stay tuned for the other four contestants as they show up for their 1__st__ stage! To all those people watching the Pokétopia Endurance Championship today, please give a round of applause to our four contestants: Eva Hawkelizer, Gigi Reene, Leon Pinetree, and Veronica Holmquist!_"

Applause followed. Loud screams and flash photography filled the colosseum once more.

* * *

**And Leon Pinetree is still KO'd...**


	8. Sea-Salt Ice Cream!

**Should anyone notice a pattern why I'm using food, it's a great instrument for the characters to socialize.**

**This chapter features the intermission, and I recommend readers to search up an image of the ice cream mentioned here - to get the picture of the mostly-mentioned ice cream here! Two more OCs shall make their debut too!**

**I regret to inform that I'm entering first-year university this autumn, so uploading chapters may take a lot more time than usual.**

**Snowsheba, reven228, SDProductions, and Ben...Kirk...NewZealand and all those who contributed deserve my thanks!**

* * *

_**Chapter eight: Sea-Salt Ice Cream!**_

Leon Pinetree had to be carried to the elevator by stretcher to be treated for shock downstairs. As much as Maria Lougheed wanted to accompany her cousin, she was stuck behind a desk to taking notes and organising scores.

"Gardevoir," she said, "could you go see if Leon's okay, please?"

Gardevoir rolled her eyes, but obliged and followed the Pokétopia official to the elevator. Maria, on the other hand, was busy looking at replays staring Veronica Holmquist. The other three would have to wait.

Rosie and Joe were in no mood to talk.

"We have to use this time as efficiently as we can," Rosie said. "I've seen your name on the Battle Class entry list, Maria. If you're going to balance judging and battling, it's going to be really hard for you."

"It's difficult," Maria admitted.

Measuring coordination didn't seem to be a simple task, at least for Maria. There were certain criteria the organizing committee established that had to be followed, and Maria tried what she could, even though she had a good reputation.

Did Veronica's Reon move fast enough to jump through the water pulse ring? Was the rain dance affecting the strength of the water pulse? If it did, by how much? How long did it take for the pulse ring to freeze before Reon landed? It took a while for Maria to think.

* * *

At the plaza entrance, Symphony Moore stood in awe of the event that she forgot to grab a seat. Outside of the plaza, where she had arrived slightly late, she and her Minccino (Colette) heard the deafening roar of the opening matches.

She even had the time to see the massive crystalized monument erected during the match, and also saw the monument crumble into bits and pieces.

_And then – what's his name? – Leon Pinetree fainted_, Symphony thought. _Oh well, looks like I'm going to have to find a seat._

When Symphony found a comfortable seat on a balcony at level with the colosseum, she would have liked it better if she had a little company, besides having her step-family come with her. Never mind that. In her hands, she unwrapped one bar of the light-blue-coloured sea-salt ice cream, and she began to eat it.

"Is that sea-salt ice cream?" a voice beside her timidly said. "Where'd you get that?"

Symphony looked to her left. An 11-year old boy, dressed in a green t-shirt and jeans (_Green is pretty hyped today,_ Symphony thought), was looked at the ice cream bar in her hands.

"I bought it at a store just a block from here, down that block" she said, whilst straightening her black jacket and pointing downward. "Don't tell me you like sea-salt ice cream too!"

"It's pretty good…" the boy went on dreamily. "Since intermission's still going, I'll go get one."

That boy was Colin Coakley. Symphony didn't know it, nor did she need to, and went on eating the bar as others waited for the opener to go on. The tangy taste of sea salt, blended with the sweetness of sugar and ice cream, danced in Symphony's mouth. It was delicious in every single way.

* * *

Below the colosseum floor, a 15-year old girl was busy, and very busily, combing her ivory black hair. To most girls, it shouldn't take too long to comb their hair, but _this_ girl had been combing her flowing black hair from the time she woke up. Her black hair flowed down to her waist, and where there were any split ends, this girl would make sure they were _all_ gone. Was her black hair supposed to compliment her green eyes? That was possible, though it was up to the girl if she agreed.

Her name was Honey 'Celestia' Starr, but if anyone dared to call her by the name 'Honey'… there would be dire consequences caused by her, which would account for why everyone would call her Celestia instead.

"Hey, Celestia, you ready?" a Pokétopia official called.

"Just a moment, _sir_!" Celestia snapped. "My hair takes a while, and more time than you might think!"

"Pardon if I may, but you've been at this for half an hour," the official shook his head. "Very well, do what you want, but your disqualification is at your expense."

Before Celestia had time to open her mouth in retaliation, the official walked away. Thinking better than to waste her breath, Celestia kept combing her hair to her waist. To other authorised people underneath the colosseum, Celestia was generally considered attractive… were it not for her hot-blooded personality. Dressing in a sleeveless blouse combined with a skirt (and tights!) would partly account for being attractive – at least in some boys' eyes.

When Celestia caught the news of Leon Pinetree's collapse, never mind actually seeing him being carried underneath the colosseum floor on a stretcher, she instantly laughed, which others found partly amusing and partly annoying.

It also seemed strange that a Gardevoir was accompanying Leon Pinetree as well. Was this Gardevoir supposed to be a caretaker? Celestia thought. Yet the Gardevoir was following Leon quite casually. Well, that crossed out caretaker from the list. Stalker? That seemed more like it…

The same Gardevoir Celestia was staring at looked at her, and Celestia hid her gaze. Celestia continued to comb her hair as she did this. She kept looking at a mirror and making absolutely sure there were no split ends.

"You know, people will start thinking you're weird if you're staring at that Gardevoir like that," a voice said from beside Celestia.

Celestia turned her body to face whoever was talking to her, because she was still combing her hair right as she did this.

There was an older girl standing beside her, and she was wearing some of the most fashionable clothes to date. Well, at least they had a _bit_ in common. To compare with Celestia's sleeveless blouse, skirt, and boots, this girl wore a light-blue tank top, skinny jeans, and **sandals**. How much more opposite could they get? Well, there was the hair. Where Celestia's hair was waist-length and was still combing the split ends, this girl had a short pixie cut and didn't require combing in the slightest.

The girl's name was Penelope Lopez, and she was 23-years old.

"And I should be concerned… why?" Celestia said.

"Well…" Penelope considered choosing her words, but decided not to and went on rambling. "That Pokémon belongs to Maria Lougheed. You know Maria Lougheed? She was a Pokétopia champion here twice and that's her Gardevoir in which she battled with. Some say that her Gardevoir is helping Maria with judging the contest, and I guess that rumour must be true. In case if you're wondering, Leon Pinetree has some sort of family relationship with Maria _I think_, but someone else would know. Anyway–"

"I get it," Celestia cut in, not wanting to hear any more.

* * *

"Argh!" Joshua Capewell cried.

Out of nowhere, and even Stephen Barca and Anne Barestein had to move aside with others, a camera had flown out of nowhere and could have knocked out Joshua, had Stephen not caught it with his hand as the camera's momentum forced Stephen to hit Joshua. Well, at least that minimised damage.

"A new camera!" Joshua said happily. "Wow, I've needed one of these, and it's the right moment too! What better time than this!"

Anne groaned. Who in their right mind would throw a camera at them, and to Joshua of all people! Now he would have opportunity to take as many pictures as he wanted. Joshua quickly got to work by experimenting all of the camera's functions, noting what operated what, and already he was away with taking pictures of the colosseum.

Aidan Quinn appeared very concerned at Leon's collapse, but at the same time he was laughing all the same.

"You know, I think it'd be best if we send Leon – let's say – a fruit basket when this session is done," he said. "I'm not saying he's missing out on the session! But…"

Lucas Vermont pondered that thought.

"I know what you mean," Lucas said. "We'll ask if Veronica's interested. In the meantime, I'm going to buy some sea-salt ice cream. You interested?"

"Oh yeah, you bet."

The two Trainers slipped away from the crowds to a nearby shop a block away…

The manager of the Main Street Side Shop didn't know why, but there were an increasing number of customers who came to his shop to buy sea-salt ice cream. He alone like the light-blue coloured treat, and sometimes would treat himself to one at least once every two days, but now the ice cream had become so popular that he would close down the store early every day to restock. Even though the store sold different kinds of ice cream, sea-salt ice cream was the most popular. It originated in some faraway land, some say.

The best and worst part about the Main Street Side Shop was that it was conveniently located in one of the busiest street blocks in all of Pokétopia. Given it was virtually next to the colosseum plaza, it was the most convenient stores in the resort. It had a prosperous business, which was the best part.

The worst part was that the shop was the biggest of three shops which actually _sold_ the popular sea-salt ice cream – the other two located at Sunset Village and the Lagoon Resort – which meant that hundreds of complaining customers were bound for the store.

It was a disaster.

"Hey! Hello?!" an 11-year old boy in a green t-shirt and jeans said. "Do you have any more bars of sea-salt ice cream?"

"I've only got two bars left, and then I'm all out!" the manager said, as he kneeled down underneath the cashier counter to open an unnaturally large freezer for the counter's size. When he opened it, all he saw were two bars – whereas the freezer could have contained at least four hundred ice cream bars of different flavours. He took one of the two ice cream bars, packaged and plastic wrapper, and placed it on the counter.

Colin Coakley pulled out some cash and paid the manager. After that, he left the Main Street Side Shop with the unwrapped ice cream bar in his hand.

Ten minutes later, Lucas Vermont and Aidan Quinn would be entering the Side Shop and arguing who would buy the last ice cream bar. It took a while, and the manager wished he could have restocked _double_ the quantity of sea-salt ice cream, and especially when hundreds of people overcrowded his shop demanding for sea-salt ice cream. Despite this, the manager was running low on ice cream overall.

* * *

Penelope Lopez and Celestia Starr had time to glimpse Leon Pinetree's state of shock before they began following the Pokétopia official who had told them the session was continuing. There were two others: a 16-year old dressed in a light blue polo and jeans – that is, Connor DuPont –, and a very, very, shy-looking girl. These two others also followed the Pokétopia official through the corridors and toward the elevator which would lead to the colosseum floor.

"When does the session continue?" Penelope asked the official.

"It will start soon. Just wait until Taylor gives the word," the official said. "For the time being, I suggest you have a seat and – if you wish – I can get someone here to buy a round of sea-salt ice cream for you four. I doubt there'd be any of those left by this time. They're extremely popular, so I wouldn't count on finding any there today."

Celestia wore a saddened expression.

"Red bean jelly ice cream works fine for me," she said. "I don't know if anyone else would want any, but I'll stick with that."

Celestia dazed off dreamily, thinking of the pink ice cream bar with red bean chunks and bits of yellow chewy jelly. Whether her expression was faking or not, the effect was good.

"Fine," the official smiled. "If there's no sea-salt ice cream left, would anyone be fine with Red bean jelly ice cream?"

Penelope and Celestia exchanged glances, and then looked at Connor and the shy-looking girl, before nodding eagerly to the Pokétopia official. The official didn't seem surprised, and walked away to find a worker who would be willing to buy some ice cream.

* * *

"Are you finished with the scores yet?" Taylor said to Rosie as Maria and Joe were still reviewing their notes and replays. "We still have a schedule to keep, and it's been an hour and fifteen…"

Rosie replied, "We're all pretty tired too, Taylor. We still have fifteen minutes before the other half of the 1st stage is ready."

"This is ridiculous," Maria muttered. "Oh, what would I do for a bar of red bean jelly ice cream…? Taylor! Could I buy an ice cream for the time being?"

Taylor scratched her ear. "We have a tight schedule… but if you're done scoring, I guess fifteen minutes wouldn't hurt."

At that, Maria Lougheed ran for the elevator.

"Hey, Maria," Rosie shouted, as she typed in her final results. "Buy me a sea-salt ice cream bar for me, please?"

"Me too," Joe added.

Six minutes later, Maria was hustling inside the Main Street Side Shop, much to a lot of people's surprise (seeing the Pokétopia judge up-close). To her disappointment, there was no sea-salt ice cream for sale, so Maria purchased the alternative: three red bean jelly ice cream bars. Another eight minutes later, she returned to the judges' desks and gave Rosie and Joe the treats. Overall, Maria knew it was worth the run.

It would take a minute later before Gardevoir returned to Maria, where the Pokémon let the Pokétopia champ know that Leon was finally waking up from his unconscious shock.

_And to think he could have done with some ice cream too!_ Maria thought as she typed in scores, reviewed replays, and chewed on the jelly bits of the red bean jelly ice cream bar.

* * *

**Ooh... so much ice cream! And there is only one OC left to introduce! That is, the shy-looking girl...**


	9. The Other Opening Matches

**Creativity is very difficult when it comes to using Pokemon moves, and I have to work and improvise with what I have.**

**reven228, SDProductions, and Eeveeluvr have my thanks for their encouragement, and was instrumental to moving forward with this new chapter.**

**To Eeveeluvr: It's been a pleasure using Gigi!**

**Introducing the last OC: Ms. Deforest... who actually belongs to my younger cousin.**

* * *

_**Chapter nine: The Other Opening Matches**_

When Taylor received word from Rosie that the three judges had completed their scoring, she knew that it was only a matter of time before the other four contestants would show up on stage. She only needed to know _when_ they were ready.

Besides, the three judges were busy eating ice cream.

_Okay, here we go,_ Taylor thought.

"_Welcome back to the first round of the Pokétopia Endurance Championship!_" Taylor's voice boomed across the plaza. "_The scores won't be posted yet, because the next four contestants of the Contest Class will make their debut today! We will be continuing the one-on-one grudge matches, so please sit back, or stand back, and enjoy the tireless performances of our contestants! _"

As the crowds cheered and Taylor smiling to herself, the first of the four contestants stepped out of the elevator from underneath. This contestant was 16-year old Connor DuPont sporting a professional light blue polo shirt with blue jeans and black sneakers. He wore black-framed glasses, even though he had a pair of contacts in his bag. He didn't need them at the moment, because he wearing glasses was faster.

Beside Connor, Penelope Lopez stepped onto the colosseum, whilst waving at the crowds.

"_In the backstage, please welcome our next round of contestants! From the prosperous Castelia City in the Unova region,_" Taylor shouted, "_please welcome Penelope Lopez!_"

Taylor looked at her cue card briefly.

"_From the far ice-cold Snowpoint City in Sinnoh, please welcome Connor DuPont!_"

The two Trainers Penelope and Connor waved to the spectators from their respective ends.

"_And, of course, welcome our next contestant: from Sinnoh's Hearthome City, and formerly from Kalos' Snowbelle City, Honey –_"

"NOOOOOOO!" Celestia roared.

"– '_Celestia' Starr_," Taylor continued. "_And these are our other four contestants!_"

"THE NAME'S CELESTIA!" Celestia burst out. "I can NOT believe it! No one heard this! No one knows about _this_. My name's Celestia! Not Honey! You get it?! _Celestia!_"

_Someone's angry_, Maria thought, and she looked at the entry list. _Her name clearly says 'Honey', too._

Celestia, otherwise known legally as 'Honey', looked as if smoke poured out of her ears. Her face was red, her eyes were fuming, and she was shuddering. If it had been anyone other than a Pokétopia official who called her 'Honey'… the consequences would be dire.

"You might want to calm down while the Colosseum Leader is speaking!" Rosie shouted back.

Celestia glared back at Rosie, but then a whiff of sense knocked into her that she was out on stage. If anything, the last thing Celestia would want was to humiliate herself in front of every person watching the championship – and especially in the opener.

In an instant, her hot anger faded to a cool, neutral, expression.

"_Ah… I seem to have forgotten the fourth contestant! Silly me!_" Taylor slapped her forehead. "_Here is the last contestant: from Sinnoh's Floaroma Town, and the extraordinarily quiet type, please welcome Kailoni Deforest!_"

The final participant of the Pokétopia Endurance Championship Contest Class walked out of the elevator. Kailoni Deforest was a 20-year old young woman with healthy-looking hair and a slim figure – dressed in a trench coat, a belt with a Poké Ball-shaped buckle, a blue t-shirt with several small necklaces (one with a pendant), blue pants, and blue boots. Her sky-blue hair was beautifully braided and fell in front of her left side falling just past her shoulder, alongside her shorter bob-like blue hair. Interestingly, she had huge long strands of hair that stuck up from her scalp and hung in front of the right side of her forehead. It was so long, some even questioned if she actually gelled it intensely or if it was natural.

In fact, her entire appearance was strikingly blue. Did that have any effect or reflection on her personality?

Kailoni was the first of the four coordinators to take out a Poké Ball and throw it onto the colosseum ground. With the sound of bursting energy, a Butterfree burst out and flew to the space above.

"Like we rehearsed," her soft voice said. "Butterfree, start off with Rage Powder! Then… do what we practised!"

Butterfree flapped her wings very furiously and in doing so produced a very, very, eye-catching cloud of red powder. Everyone who gathered at Main Street Colosseum could see the brilliantly shining – and irritating – powder sparkle in the vast space above the colosseum ground.

The red cloud blasted up and began to fall to the ground, but not before expanding its borders to cover almost the entire colosseum.

_Okay_, Kailoni thought. _Anytime now…_

Butterfree began spinning away in the air in the apparent direction of the clouded Rage Powder. The sight of the red powder might have been too blinding for anyone to see Butterfree shoot in, but not to Butterfree herself, who knew what she was doing.

Flying in, combining with the increasing speed of a Tailwind, Butterfree momentarily disappeared inside the Rage Powder, but in the next limited seconds she shot out of the other end of the falling glitter.

ROAR…

The air hanging inside the plaza seemed to explode into fragments – where every spectator could feel the slightest breeze in their hairs or their faces – and the Rage Powder particles shot in every direction of the colosseum plaza.

"OOH…" was the word that echoed throughout the colosseum. Indeed, wherever anyone looked – be it on the Pachirisu and Bidoof balloons, or the Pokétopia buildings in every section, or on the grounds below – there was always the evident sparkle of red glitter hanging in the air. Kailoni wasn't done, though.

_Let's wrap it up with this!_ Kailoni thought.

Butterfree spun in circles and fired away a dramatic Silver Wind. Like magnets attracting each other, the shining white sparkles of Silver Wing drew to every red particle of Rage Powder hanging in the air. The lined up with every red bit in sight – where shining white and red surrounded the colosseum.

It was a magical sight, and it stunned even the Pokétopia judges with awe.

The crowds slowly clapped their hands, and then it elevated to a round of all-out applause. Kailoni played with her sky-blue braid with one hand, and waved thank-you to everyone around. Butterfree subsequently returned to her side.

"Well done, Butterfree. Great job," she commented. "That's nearly as good as the other times!"

Butterfree happily grinned. "_Free!_"

After the applause had quieted down, while not completely gone, Kailani turned her attention to either across from her or beside her. Whether it was Celestia, Penelope, or Connor going next, Kailoni had her undivided attention turned to them.

"_Whoever's next, please go ahead!_" Taylor said. "_If no one else, I'll choose for you! From the looks of it, Connor DuPont will go next!_"

Without another word, Connor spun a full 360-degree rotation as he threw his Poké Ball directly forward – like a baseball player would throw a fastball – and his Pokémon would fly out.

* * *

If Colin Coakley thought Eva's performance was impressive, no thanks to knocking out Leon, he was sure to be equally surprised as a Froslass appeared on the ground far below. Now that Colin had just finished eating a bar of sea-salt ice cream and feeling cold, he seemed to feel colder. The Froslass began spinning around, and unleashed a punishing series of the unmistakable Shadow Ball, where massive dark orbs of energy shot away in a spiral.

A humongous broadcasting screen was displayed up high on one of the Pokétopia buildings in the plaza. Since there were plenty of cameramen-and-women operating in the colosseum, every angle of the competition was covered so that everyone could see what was going on below (Pokétopia Authority saw it necessary). Alongside the broadcast, there were captions and subtitles showing what moves the Pokémon were using.

The Shadow Ball spheres spun upward and looked far from slowing down. For everyone else, they knew_ something_ exciting was about to happen.

Their anticipation did not disappoint.

Where the orbs began travelling in spirals, the Froslass soared upward at a speed much faster than the Shadow Balls. They may have travelled fast, but Froslass travelled faster given she was the one who fired it (although if this were an enemy attack Froslass would be unlikely to avoid it).

After Froslass went past the final orb she continued her journey upward until she had a good distance between her and the impeding orbs of doom still travelling in a spiral. Nevertheless, she unleashed the dark aura of Ominous Wind and – somehow the Shadow Balls began traveling in the reverse direction.

_It sure looks like the wind's changing the force of the balls_, Collin thought.

* * *

Standing below, Joshua Capewell was happily taking photographs with his brand-new replacement camera – a move that particularly annoyed Rhianne and Steven.

"This is great," Joshua said. "I can take all these photos and I'll finally have something to write about today! With pictures!"

"Still wish you had your old camera, huh?" Rhianne rolled her eyes.

"I still wish," Joshua said, without looking at Rhianne. "My camera featured some of the finest technology, as Lumiose Press supplied it to me, but this camera will do for the time being."

Steven Barca reserved the right to remain silent, and had no comment.

* * *

Aidan Quinn and Lucas Vermont were silently enjoying the show where the now-reversed Shadow Balls spiralled to the ground. As the two enjoyed sea-salt ice cream treats, they saw Froslass dive down from above.

"That Froslass is going through the inside!" Lucas said.

Where the orbs travelled in spirals, there was the fine line inside the spiral where there was nothing but open space. Froslass appeared to use this space to her advantage and shot through, while trying her best to not touch a Shadow Ball.

"Wow," Aidan whispered.

"Say, Aidan," Lucas said. "This may seem irrelevant, but where did you get that bag of yours? It's a really nice design with those Pokémon on it. Did anyone tell you that?"

Aidan didn't say anything at first, as he processed how he should respond. In truth, he didn't 'get' the bag from anywhere, at least not technically. The designs of the Pokémon were actually from his own team, and Aidan sewed and embroidered it himself.

"I… I think I could tell you later," he said. "I want to watch the opener."

"Fair enough."

By the time Froslass had passed the last of the Shadow Balls, she turned around again so that she saw the spiral of Shadow Balls falling towards her. Quickly, she rapidly fired Ice Shards toward the spiral's centre. First starting as a tiny crystal soaring through the inside, progressively bigger Ice Shards followed and eventually a monstrous crystal was fired through the inside, where it touched and shattered each Shadow Ball it passed.

Where each Shadow Ball dispersed, large cracks formed on the final Ice Shard until it too had shattered into fragments.

"_And there we go!_" Taylor said. "_Give it up for Connor DuPont!_"

The colosseum roared with applause.

"_We only have two more contestants to go through before the 1__st__ stage of this session is complete!_" Taylor shouted. "_Hang tight!_"

Maria felt like banging her head on the desk in front of her. It had been over THREE HOURS since the session started, and she could feel heart pulse quietly beating in her temple. Why did this have to take so long?! This was ridiculous, and she hadn't even started her Battle Class session! All she had to do was take notes and form a score, but Maria realised this was going to be much harder than she thought.

Nevertheless, seeing the performances up close was entirely worth it. She was a special guest judge, after all.

Fortunately, there was always her own Gardevoir who was willing to help, and so Gardevoir helped Maria with judging the scores.

"_Once again, as I introduced earlier, here's Penelope Lopez!_" Taylor said.

* * *

Below, in a room beneath the colosseum ground, Leon Pinetree had finally awoken from his state of shock and was sitting on the edge of a lounge chair. With the other three contest coordinators, (Giselle 'Gigi', Evangelina 'Eva', and Veronica, he watched the live broadcast on a projector screen in the lounge. There was the girl in the spotlight with the short pixie haircut and eye-catching light red hair. Red and blue? Leon thought. On one end here was a girl with short red hair, and on the other was a girl with long blue hair. What was going here?!

"_There's Penelope Lopez_," the commentator said. "_She's bringing out her Poké Ball. It looks like – yes – she's just sent out a Mismagius. According to the file, she nicknamed that Pokémon Magnus. Interesting, for sure._"

"_Just look at the expression on Penelope's eyes,_" the other commentator said. "_There's the expression of pure focus there. It's like if you were to say something to her, and she wouldn't hear you. That's ideal, don't you think?_"

"_Yes, indeed,_" the first commentator replied.

Leon watched the Mismagius summon a ring of purplish-white fire. It looked blue, or purple, and possibly white. Still, it was a Will-O-Wisp, of course. The fires burned upward and descended back to earth, where it stopped on the ground.

"_There's a Shadow Ball upcoming, from the looks of it_," the commentary said.

A huge black ball of energy not unlike the ones Connor's Frosslass had used before shot from Magnus and smashed into the ground in front of the Will-O-Wisp. For a moment, the Will-O-Wisp disappeared into the dark, but it continued to burn bright.

In the lounge, everyone was quiet. Eva and Leon kept their eyes on the screen, whereas Gigi looked at the screen infrequently, and Veronica watched it occasionally.

"_Hahaha…_" the commentator laughed. "_No explosions here, but seems that the combination of Shadow was more than enough to pass. See those flames orbiting_ inside_ the Shadow Ball! It's like a crystal ball consuming a fire._"

Indeed, from what Leon, Gigi, Veronica, and Eva could see, the Will-O-Wisp sunk inside the Shadow Ball simultaneously and formed a single bright flame from within.

"High performance art. That's what I'll call it," Eva said, finally breaking the ringing silence.

"Quiet and modest," Leon added.

Gigi raised her eyebrows. It made her quite nervous to see this performance, and it led to her thinking if she could have done any better. Nevertheless, she felt that she had done good already.

The Shadow Ball dispersed, and left the Will-O-Wisp flame spreading out onto the colosseum ground. Applause filled the colosseum again.

"_Now that is what we would call classical contest approach_," the commentator said. "_No surprise if this gets high marks._"

* * *

"_One more to go!_" Taylor said. "_Penelope, you've done a great job. Now, last but not least, let's all welcome the last Contest Class participant of the Pokétopia Endurance Championship: Hon –_"

"CELESTIA!" Celestia roared. "THE NAME'S CELESTIA!"

"_Sorry. Last but not least is Celestia Starr, from Hearthome City,_" Taylor 'corrected' herself.

The last contestant, in her long-haired magnificence, made the flashiest moves one could ever imagine in a contest. Perhaps Celestia might have overdone it when she cartwheeled on the floor (in the hopes of getting extra points for creativity), somersaulted in midair (which was – in every right – something Celestia would never want to do again), and launched her Poké Ball forward (where the ball travelled very slowly in the air).

* * *

"Go for it, Galahad!" Celestia shouted when the sound of a bursting Poké Ball echoed in front of her. A Gallade landed on the colosseum floor with a thundering _BANG_.

No one said anything, apart from the indistinct chatter going on around every edge of Main Street, where Celestia's Gallade (namely Galahad) prepared to move.

But before Galahad could do anything, Rosie briefly clicked on a button on her computer screen to begin an audio soundtrack. The speakers which had projected Taylor's voice began playing a catchy music theme (for those who care, it's the Main Street Colosseum theme!).

Swords Dance first. Galahad's forearms glowed, and the ends of his arms increased in length rapidly. Dancing to the theme and chorus of the Main Street Colosseum theme, Galahad twisted and spun in rapid directions – coordinating his moves and feet with the music. His arms and legs moved, stretched, and recoiled as if they were swords.

"Drain Punch," Celestia said, with her voice quieting down considerably. "Listen closely."

The buffed strength of the Swords Dance somehow made Galahad quite agile. With the saxophone playing in the background, the glowing punches matched well with the melody. As the song continued to play on, Galahad moved and pressed on to listen to the music, as he exchanged regular arm and leg movements with Drain Punches.

At one point Galahad would slide to one side, and then follow up with quick Drain Punches. When the effects of the Swords Dance wore off, Celestia ordered Galahad to repeat another Swords Dance, but this time with different movements, permutations, and combinations done in a matter of ten seconds.

"Drain Punch then Psycho Cut," Celestia said. "Keep with the melody."

Super-fast punching were just a blur in most eyes, but there was the fine line where Galahad would allow the rare sight of seeing a Psycho Cut for the briefest instant before continuing punching again. The song kept going, and Galahad stopped for a while, and his hands were clapping.

"_Celestia's Gallade is encouraging all of us to clap with the song!_" Taylor said. "_Why not join him? Or maybe help him out?_"

Maria's Gardevoir was the first to start clapping. As much as the 12-year old Maria wanted to join, she had to keep her focus on Galahad's coordination – particularly with the music – and couldn't afford distractions.

Very soon, the entire plaza resounded with the sound of simultaneous clapping.

"_What will Celestia do next?!_" Taylor shouted.

Galahad's arm glowed dark purple, and it was clearly a sign that he was preparing to execute a Psycho Cut. Spinning on the spot, Galahad stuck his arm out to – thanks to the Psycho Cut arm – generate a visible ring of psychic energy around him. While Galahad remained spinning, the purplish ring would continue to glow.

And of course his trick had done its work, as the music faded away.

This left the crowd hypnotized (but not the judges, who were too busy focusing on their respective jobs), and it took a while before the clapping actually started. Afterwards, Galahad bowed before everyone, where Celestia followed suit.

The clapping continued until a Pokétopia official appeared at the elevator leading to the area beneath the colosseum. After this, Taylor touched the microphone on the top of her dress to make sure it still worked, and then said, "_That was a _great_ show by each of our contestants. Now, as each participant has participated for at least half an hour each, they are now entitled to each take their 5-minute break. With these other four done it is now the end of the 1__st__ stage of today's Contest Class session. While our judges take scores and the participants taking their restorative breaks, it is now time for _your_ break too! Pokétopia Authority is generous, so they are increasing today's break to up to 15 minutes. Use it well!_"

Taylor then took out a newspaper and read it in front of everyone.

"_It's now time for a news update. Lumiose Press has also received word that the Main Street Side Shop has received a huge shipment of sea-salt ice cream just recently. A damaged plane, carrying heavy loads and supplies for Pokétopia, had to drop a load of sea-salt ice cream to Pokétopia early to avoid crashing. That's good! This means we shall get sea-salt ice cream two days early! They are now selling at the same price of 500 Pokédollars, so go and get some!_"

* * *

Among the first to run out to get some of the freshly arrived sea-salt ice cream was Gigi Reene. By 'among the first', that meant there were fifty (50!) people already crowding at the Side Shop's doors. It was so packed, that the store manager had to call on Pokétopia Authority to control the number of people who would potentially overcrowd the store, resulting in chaos. So there was an organised lineup in the end.

"Come on already! This is ridiculous!" said the voice in front of her.

Giselle (also known as Gigi) saw a girl in front who looked not much older than she was (Gigi was 14-years old). Specifically, the girl in front looked 15-years old, and she sported blond slightly spiky bangs and a ponytail, with a black jacket, purple minidress, gray picnic shorts, and black boots. Why, even her purple eyes matched the purple on her minidress. A Minccino stood on her shoulder.

"We'll all suffering here," Gigi said to the girl.

The girl (it was Symphony) turned to look at Gigi with an annoyed expression, but it quickly softened. "Oh, I know that. I thought maybe if I kept yelling I might be able to move up the line a bit. Say, you had a great performance out there, Gigi. I liked it lots!"

Gigi smiled. "All in a day's work. Say! How did you know my name?"

Symphony rolled her eyes. "Taylor said your name out loud before everyone. How could you not know? (_It was too loud,_ Gigi thought) Besides, my name's Symphony. Symphony Moore."

The two girls waited patiently in line. Even though the break would last 15 minutes, it was more than enough time to grab a bar of sea-salt ice cream.

"Anyway, are you a fan of sea-salt ice cream?" Gigi grinned. "I haven't had a lot of it, but… you know what I mean. I have to try some today."

"WHAT," Symphony's purple eyes widened. "You're missing out on good stuff! That's it! I will buy you a bar of sea-salt ice cream! Then you'll learn to enjoy it!"

Gigi wanted to argue, but Symphony cut her off. "No questions asked! No arguments! I'm buying you ice cream!"

"No way! I'm buying my own!" Gigi said with fists clenched. "No need for courtesy here!"

The two girls then began to have a huge argument loud enough for all of Main Street to hear. It was so loud, that people actually started to make way for them to buy sea-salt ice cream first, so that they could hear the arguing no more. After four minutes, the two girls left the Side Shop and were enjoying light-blue-coloured bars of sea-salt ice cream together while happily chatting away as if they were close friends.

* * *

**I just realised that working with the moves I have now are going to be extremely difficult when I write new chapters. I am accepting amendments via PM from anyone who submitting Pokemon under contest class. You may add another 4-8 moves to the moveset, so I can generate new combinations!**

**I regret to inform all readers that I head out for vacation on August 15. I'll be away for two weeks, and then I will be starting first-year university, so my time on Fanfiction will be horribly limited. Chances are that I won't be writing again until December. If I can find the time to write, I'll try my best to make the most of it.**

**Don't forget to make amendments to your Pokemon moveset it you want to!**


	10. Interim Scores When Honey isn't Sweet

**Poketopia Endurance Championship: the last update was August 7, 2014, and it's almost November 2014...**

**My excuses: I went on several weeks of vacation, and more.**

**So sorry that I'm taking so long! But the problem is that I'm currently a first-year university student, so my writing time has been extremely limited. My sincere apologies to those who have been waiting for an update for so long!**

**Even now, I'm still studying for university purposes, and I'm setting time aside just for this chapter.**

**My extra thanks to eeveeluvr, reven228, and SDproductions for keeping up. You get a free bar of sea-salt ice cream if you read this message!**

**Snowsheba, you're just in time to join in for some ice cream!**

**The chapter has been slightly modified due to some feedback.**

* * *

_**Chapter ten: Interim Scores, and when Honey isn't Sweet**_

Giselle Reene (otherwise known as Gigi) selected an Oran Berry from the generous supply of items sponsored by Pokétopia Authority, held it delicately to her Pokémon Goddess (Gardevoir), and the latter began to eat.

In Gigi's opinion: restoring her Pokémon, especially in an event where restoration breaks were non-existent, was personally deemed essential. Even though Goddess could last longer throughout the session, it was better to boost morale and keep up her strength.

In the same way, Giselle reached into her bag to pull out a peppermint. Among the foods she liked, she could not resist just about any kind of sweet. Sea-salt ice cream… oh…! That was good. Nevertheless, a peppermint gave just the right spice. Maybe chocolate could come after.

"Time to rest up, Goddess," Gigi said. "If you ask me, I feel like sleeping already… Still, there are lots to come! Let's try to get our spot on the podium… if we get any good scores!"

Goddess shrugged, and went on chewing the bits of Oran Berry.

Earlier, upon arriving back at the colosseum plaza, Gigi had to part ways with Symphony so they could prepare for the second stage of the opener. Gigi accessed the lounge underneath the colosseum and, on the way, giving Goddess the well-deserved rest break. Symphony, on the other hand, had returned to the balconies to find a good seat.

"Does anyone know when interim scores will be posted?" someone, a girl, said. From what Gigi could see, this girl was Celestia Starr. Gigi questioned why Celestia made a huge fuss about the name 'Honey'. It was clearly written on the entry list! Gigi, though, still thought it better not to call her by that name.

However, that was what Gigi thought half an hour ago and not now. She was quite forgetful!

"You're Honey, right?" Gigi said not-so-absentmindedly. "They mentioned that they'll post the scores once the judges are finished with tallying. After all, scorekeeping isn't easy, right?"

A flare exploded in the atmosphere, or at least that's what it surely felt like.

"I'm sorry, what did you just call me…?" Celestia burst out, and caused Gigi – and Goddess – to hit the ground. "…WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME…LADY? HUH? WHAT?"

The irony was, Gigi was actually younger than Celestia by a year. If Gigi somehow knew this, she would have ridiculed her for calling Gigi a 'lady'. Nevertheless, Celestia's explosive temper got the better of that possible thinking, and everyone in the lounge stared at her.

Some say they could feel the walls shaking. Others say it could have been signs of an earthquake. In Gigi's case, it was a huge annoyance. Goddess alone shook her head in disapproval as she consumed the Oran Berry.

"Slow down, _miss_," Gigi retorted. Somewhere within her heart and mind, she could hear her heartbeat pounding in her chest and pulsing in her ears. "Seriously, hasn't anyone taught you any manners? I've done nothing wrong! Watch what you're saying!"

Fuel to the fire, as some would say, but Celestia and Gigi barely suppressed it.

Instead, Celestia seized Gigi's arm and quietly pulled her aside from the lounge, much to the surprise of the other contestants. Eva and Connor, sitting on adjacent seats, watched the scene unfold before their eyes, and it seemed… strange that such could occur in a championship.

"I think I'll try to mediate the two of them," Connor said, standing up and fixing his collar.

Eva's reaction was indifferent, but he nervously fixed his own tie in light of the events. Did Connor have the gift of mediation? He would never know, but Eva said, "How many times have you settled arguments?"

"More than I can count," Connor answered. "I've never like arguments since I was…"

"Very little?"

"Yeah."

Eva remained indifferent, and watched Connor stand up and walk to where Celestia had dragged Gigi off to. Penelope, Kailoni, Leon, and Veronica watched silently. What exactly was going on, anyway?

"An argument over a name, I guess," Kailoni said. "I kind of feel sorry for her. What do you think?"

"No idea," Veronica answered, first. "It reminds me of a good old treat when I was little."

"Who doesn't like honey?" Penelope added. "It's sweet, delicious, and it goes well with tea, which I normally like to add with cream or milk… maybe sugar! Now, who doesn't like sugar? It goes well with cake, and with cake there's always some sort of special occasion, and – and – huh, I can't remember!"

Penelope stopped when the three contestants stared at her with either round eyes or dizzied eyes.

"What were we talking about again…?" Leon quietly said. "I thought this was about food."

"Not in the slightest, Leon," Veronica said, with a slight roughness. "This is about honey. Wait. Since when did we start talking about honey?"

"So… what's the deal with honey? It's a good treat, right?" Kailoni said. "I wonder…"

Somehow, the purpose of the conversation was lost, and everyone knew it. In effect, no one bothered to continue the conversation any further, and they waited for the inevitable scores to be presented.

_Well, I guess getting some more food for Lulu wouldn't hurt_, Eva thought, as he fed two Oran Berries to his Pokémon. That reminded him…

"Hey, Leon," he said, "how're you feeling?"

Leon Pinetree looked at the platinum-blond, scoffed, and shook his head. "I've felt worse, but come on, was wrecking such a nice work of art necessary? It was a good one, too."

"It looked better when it exploded," Eva said innocently. "Everyone likes explosions, right?"

This earned many laughs from Veronica, Penelope, and Kailoni. Leon could only shake his head in frustration. True, everyone likes explosions, but _this…_

* * *

A short distance away, Connor DuPont arrived just in time to hear Celestia say very harsh words to an annoyed Giselle 'Gigi'. "The next time I hear you call me Honey or any variation thereof to my face, I will lose my temper, and the results are never pretty."

"Come of it, _Celestia_," Gigi countered. "What's the fear of a name? It's just like a name others would say. I even hear people who are named sugar or candy, and that's worse off than your aforementioned name, right?"

"Don't push it, _Giselle_," Celestia said, whilst crossing her arms.

"Hey, hey, what's going on?"

Gigi and Celestia turned to see a teenage boy who looked slightly older than the two of them (he was 16 compared to Celestia's 15 and Gigi's 14), and he looked confused and understanding at the same time.

"This is a private matter," Celestia said. "Not your business."

"But you seem to have a temper, you know," he said. "What's going on?

Celestia wanted to say something, but then – somehow randomly – Connor offered her a peppermint. How random was that? Celestia wanted to brush his hand aside, but found that her wrist was seized by Gigi.

"It'll get you thinking," Gigi said, a peppermint still in her mouth. "Just cool down. Come on."

In a mix of frustration, resentment, and confusion, Celestia shoved her wrist free from Gigi's and took the peppermint.

* * *

After Maria, Joe, and Rosie wrapped up a short discussion about interim scores, Maria turned her attention to her long-trusted Gardevoir, as she took her seat again.

"You know, Gardevoir, seeing Symphony and Giselle giving nicknames to their Pokémon – Colette and Goddess, respectively – got me thinking if you should have a name too," Maria said. "It's not like I couldn't keep calling you Gardevoir forever, but I figured that you should have a name that's something special between us. What do you think?"

Gardevoir pondered a long moment before sending a very, very, brief but sharp image into Maria's mind. It would be enough for Maria to understand.

As soon as the image hit Maria, Maria had the briefest thought of her home in LaRousse. It was the sort of thought that Maria could for a moment understand this was what defined Gardevoir. Hi-tech buildings, a city operated by resources with zero emissions, and a city that was dominated by oceans and temperate forests of green…

_Evergreen_, the thought somehow naturally floated in her mind.

"Evergreen?" Maria asked her Gardevoir, while finally snapping out of her thought of home. "Well, I guess that would be appropriate, wouldn't it?"

Gardevoir, or perhaps Evergreen, walked over to give the same comforting pat which Maria was always familiar with ever since she had evolved from being a Kirlia. Evergreen smiled as she watched Maria groan in a mix of tiredness and frustration, whilst seeing that Rosie and Joe weren't having any trouble in the slightest. After Maria, Joe, and Rosie wrapped up a short discussion about interim scores, Maria turned her attention to her long-trusted Gardevoir, as she took her seat again.

"Yeah, but I kind of grown used to calling you Gardevoir for so long…" Maria said, quietly.

Evergreen frowned, and sent a thought to Maria's mind. _Maria! You're too young to be conservative! You're only twelve! Besides…_

Before Maria could reply to that, it was then Maria realised that Evergreen, _her_ Gardevoir, was communicating with her by talkative means. Wow. Since when did she get to experience this? Well, Gardevoir was a psychic-type. Perhaps that had a part.

"Besides… what?" Maria asked, finally accepting that Gardevoir was communicating with her. "And also, how do I know that these thoughts aren't my imagination?"

Evergreen smiled. _I kind of adapted to the name when we were really little back at LaRousse. You were starting off and I was a Ralts. It's a name that I like to carry because it reminds me, and maybe you, of home. Oh, by the way, these thoughts wouldn't be from your imagination since I know I'm the one giving them._

"Fair enough," Maria grinned. "I want an ice cream!"

Evergreen shook her head. She didn't say anything, but Maria figured that her Gardevoir didn't want Maria to increase her sugar consumption by buying extra treats. Personally, Evergreen thought ice cream could wait when the session was over.

"Aw… Gard – Evergreen! That's no fair," Maria pouted.

"Maria! Are you done with scores yet?" Rosie reminded. "We just discussed this, so it's only a matter of time, a short one, before we present them."

The third judge, Maria, typed in commands on the computer and used a mouse to complete whatever was left. There were eight scores to present, so… Maria had to make up her mind right now. Carefully, Maria selected the final scores for submission.

"It's almost time," Rosie said.

Taylor nodded and walked out to the middle of Main Street Colosseum, and at the same time the camera crews began airing the demonstration. After adjusting her mic, Taylor's voice roared off the walls and windows in Main Street plaza. "_Guys and gals, the interim scores shall be presented here and by live broadcast in a matter of minutes. By then, judges Rosie and Joe, and special guest Maria, will show their decisions together. Don't go away, we'll be ready!_"

* * *

Symphony Moore finished eating her bar of sea-salt ice cream and appropriately discarded the stick into a trash can. With Colette, her Minccino, sitting patiently by her side, she arrived back at the plaza just in time to hear Taylor's announcement that the interim scores would be presented shortly.

_FLASH_

A camera flash temporarily blinded her eyes.

"Ow…"

"Score!" a masculine voice said.

"Stop that, Joshua, you'll start freaking people out," a woman's voice added.

"Come on, Rhianne! That's Symphony! You know, the Battle Class challenger! It doesn't mean that I can't take pictures of her!"

"Joshua, that's an invasion of privacy and you know it," the woman said. "Don't you ever wonder if you've taken enough photos?"

"I lost my camera, so I'll make the most of this new one!"

Symphony turned her head to see what appeared to be a news reporter. His attire consisted of an unzipped jacket over a long sleeve with cargo pants, with chocolate-brown hair stretching down his ears to his chin, and he was wearing glasses and a fedora. The woman beside him looked less outgoing than that, given her black hair, indigo jacket, purple satchel, black jeans and white sneakers, with earphones around her neck. A third person looked even simpler than that, and he consisted of mainly black and green (black hair, green eyes, black cargo pants, green t-shirt, a hooded jacket, and a pair of green headphones in contrast to the woman's).

"Let it go, Anne," Stephen said.

"No, this guy simply crosses too many lines," Anne brushed him aside.

"Still, if he were to find his camera…" Stephen whispered, so that to Joshua it would be inaudible, "maybe he could slow down a bit. Now that I think about it, that camera was a company camera supplied to him by Lumiose Press. If he didn't have it… who knows what could happen to him? He could lose his job, and then he'll be unemployed…"

Before Anne had a chance to show any sentimentalism, Symphony said, "Pardon the interruption, but what's going on here?"

Anne and Stephen looked at each other first, and they took Symphony aside. "Could we talk about this later? Maybe over coffee? We can explain."

Symphony contemplated this, but there was also the second session of the day. "I can't. I'm a participant in the Battle Class of the championship. I have to prepare."

To her surprise, Stephen laughed, and Anne smiled. Colette looked equally confused as Symphony, and then Stephen extended a hand to her. "I'm Stephen, by the way, and this is my acquaintance, Anne. So why don't we talk over coffee? I'm a challenger in this championship, like you, as Joshua here has gladly told us your name."

Stephen and Anne showed their Battle Passes, the smooth-looking Stream Green and intensely shiny Diamond Dust respectively, to Symphony, before the latter showed her also intensely shiny Pearl Wave pass in contrast to Anne's.

At the same time, it felt overwhelming to Symphony how this Stephen character knew her name. She didn't ask, but after shaking Stephen's hand, she shook Anne's. Clearly, Symphony was at a loss for words because of the shock she was getting.

"I guess we could have coffee…" Symphony said, and her thoughts briefly went back to the morning rush with Maria many hours ago. That café could still be busy. Maybe not. But there were other things to consider besides coffee. "I'll wait. The interim scores are something we don't want to miss, right?"

"I suppose…" Joshua said.

* * *

Aidan and Lucas, on the other hand, were impressed by the performances nonetheless.

"She did put up a good fight, eh?" Aidan said.

"Veronica? Certainly," Lucas replied, and his face was replaced with a wide grin. "I'll admit, though, that that Leon Pinetree's collapse really hit the spot. Could you hear how many people around us were laughing?"

"Yeah."

They remained seated patiently for the interim scores to be presented, but it was then Lucas got up, saying, "I'm going to grab some lunch. I'm pretty hungry."

"You read my mind," Aidan laughed.

Within the next minute, the two were standing inside one of the many restaurants in Pokétopia, near the Main Street plaza. As they waited for their meals to arrive, they kept their eyes on the broadcast screen that showed a view of the judges Rosie, Joe, and Maria busily typing away at their computers. Come to that, they let their Pokémon have a share of the meals too.

Over lunch, they were met by an 11-year old boy (blue jeans, black sneakers, and green shirt with a Poké Ball no less) who sat alone at a table. He looked bored, as he was watching the broadcast too.

"Mind if we join you? There aren't any seats left, so…" Aidan started.

"Um… sure," the boy said.

Aidan and Lucas sat down and, like the boy beside them, watched the broadcast too. No one said a word, until the boy said, "I'm Colin, by the way."

"I'm Aidan." He flashed his Stream Green Battle Pass first.

"I'm Lucas," the teal-haired Trainer said, as he presented his Pokétopia Gold pass (much to Colin's amusement). "So, Colin, is it just you here at Pokétopia?"

"Kind of," Colin answered, before he flashed his lime-coloured Star Green pass. "I'm bored, since my friends are away at the session right now, so I thought I'd grab some lunch before I head back. They're both participating right now."

It took a moment before Aidan and Lucas registered that.

"Say, we have a friend participating in the session right now, too…"

Then the conversation was politely interrupted by the sound of Colosseum Leader Taylor, who was broadcasting straight from the display screen.

* * *

"_Alright, everyone, the time has come!_" her voice bellowed. "_I'll hand over the spotlight to Rosie now, so let us all see what they have in store for us!_"

The crowds cheered constantly as Taylor retreated to the judges' desk, where she saw Rosie equip a separate mic onto her ear as she fashionably stepped out to the middle of Main Street Colosseum. The eyes of almost every individual on Pokétopia, be it human or Pokémon, whether by watching it live or by broadcast, were now upon her.

"_Alright, let us present the interim scores,_" Rosie said. "_But before we do, I would like to remind everyone how the scoring system works. In Contest Class, we evaluate three disciplines for each contestant after each stage on a scale of five points: Talent, Coordination, and Endurance. Only the contestant with the highest amount of points by the end of the session will be declared the session's victor. At this point, only the Talent and Coordination judges will present their scores. So, without further ado, let us present the scores._"

Everyone around Pokétopia waited. For those watching the live broadcast, the scores were displayed on their screens. For those who were watching it live, there was the biggest screen positioned on the largest building's exterior in the plaza. For the contestants underneath the colosseum floor, they watched it by live broadcast no less.

Rosie sat down, looked at Maria (who nodded back), and the two judges disclosed the scores.

Loud cheering and jeering echoed throughout.

**Pokétopia Endurance Championship Day 1, Main Street Colosseum Contest Class: Interim Scores**

**T=Talent**

**Co=Coordination**

**1\. Veronica Holmquist: 5 pts (T) + 4 pts (Co) = 9 pts**

**2\. Connor DuPont: 4 pts (T) + 4.5 pts (Co) = 8.5 pts**

****3\. Kailoni Deforest : 3.5 pts (T) + 4.5 pts (Co) = 8 pts****

**3\. Giselle 'Gigi' Reene: 4 pts (T) + 4 pts (Co) = 8 pts**

**5\. Evangelina 'Eva' Hawkelizer: 3.5 pts (T) + 3.5 pts (Co) = 7 pts**

**6\. Penelope Lopez: 3.5 pts (T) + 3 pts (Co) = 6.5 pts**

**6\. Honey 'Celestia' Starr: 3 pts (T) + 3.5 pts (Co) = 6.5 pts**

**8\. Leon Pinetree: 3.5 pts (T) + 2.5 pts (Co) = 6 pts**

* * *

**Figuring out the points was a pain, as I had to make sure I wasn't biased toward anything, and at the same time I had to evaluate each discipline fairly, to prevent contradictions.**

**Now, Maria's Gardevoir shall be known as Evergreen!**


End file.
